GU Ex-VC Dr Neerja Gupta in Soup Over Alleged Scam Linked to ₹40-Crore Central Grant

Ahmedabad: Questions have been raised over the handling of a ₹40 crore Central government grant sanctioned to Gujarat University under the Pradhan Mantri Jan Vikas Karyakram (PMJVK), with documents reportedly indicating concerns over the creation of a project post for former Vice-Chancellor Dr Neerja Gupta, payments made from the project account, and the utilisation of the grant.

The allegations have emerged in connection with a Central government-funded project for the documentation, classification, digitisation and preservation of Jain manuscripts at Gujarat University. The project was sanctioned under the Ministry of Minority Affairs’ PMJVK programme, which is intended to support development and preservation initiatives concerning minority communities and their heritage.

According to documents cited in the investigation done by a local Gujarati daily, the Central government approved a grant of ₹40 crore for the Gujarat University project on March 14, 2024.

Executive Council approves project account arrangement

The issue of how the grant would be routed came up at a meeting of Gujarat University’s Executive Council on July 3, 2025.

The meeting, held at around 5.30 pm, was attended by 15 of the 17 members. The council resolved that the PMJVK grant would be linked to a bank account of the Principal Investigator of the project.

At the time, Dr Neerja Gupta was the Vice-Chancellor of the university and chaired the meeting.

The subsequent appointment structure has become one of the key points of contention.

On September 15, 2025, a letter was sent to the Ministry of Minority Affairs from Ahmedabad regarding the proposed advisory committee for the Jain Manuscriptology project. According to the documents, the list submitted to the ministry placed Dr Gupta’s name first, identifying her as the Principal Investigator and Chairperson.

This has raised questions over the manner in which the post of Principal Investigator was created and subsequently assigned, particularly because the project account was to receive the Central government’s ₹40 crore grant.

₹4.20 lakh monthly remuneration

Documents cited in the investigation also raise questions about remuneration paid to Dr Gupta in her capacity in the project.

According to the allegations, a seven-member team was constituted for the Jain manuscript project. The team included Dr Gupta, two faculty members, a data operator, an accountant, a record keeper and office staff.

Dr Gupta is alleged to have drawn a monthly remuneration of ₹4.20 lakh from the project.

The allegation is significant because she was already serving as the university’s Vice-Chancellor and was receiving remuneration attached to that position.

The documents reportedly show that Dr Gupta and three other members of the project team were among those whose signatures were used for processing the team’s salary payments. It is further alleged that Dr Gupta received the project remuneration for around nine months, with documentation available for payments including that made in May.

The circumstances surrounding the creation of the post, approval of remuneration and payment process are therefore likely to be important areas for any formal inquiry.

Questions over consultant company

Another issue concerns the inclusion of a representative of Oacters, described as a project management consultancy, in the advisory committee.

According to the allegations, the company is associated with Sameer Shukla. The report claims that the company had earlier been blacklisted by a previous Gujarat University Vice-Chancellor.

The circumstances under which the company was subsequently included in the project have raised questions.

The project’s financial records could provide the basis for determining whether the consultancy received payments from the Central grant and, if so, under what approval and contractual arrangement.

₹10.01 lakh payment to consultancy

According to the bank transaction details cited in the investigation, ₹10,01,891 was transferred by cheque from the project account to the account of Oacters on May 2, 2026.

The transaction occurred while Dr Gupta was still serving as Vice-Chancellor.

Her tenure as Vice-Chancellor ended on June 30, 2026.

Another transaction cited in the investigation took place on July 7, 2026, one week after the end of her tenure.

According to the documents, ₹9,84,150 was transferred through a foreign-exchange transaction from the same account into the account of Dr Gupta’s son, Akshat Gupta, who is reported to be residing in Germany.

The nature and purpose of this transaction, including the basis on which it was authorised and whether it was connected with the university project, would require clarification from the concerned individuals and the university.

What happened to the ₹40 crore?

The utilisation of the full ₹40 crore grant is now a central question.

According to information cited in the investigation, questions were raised internally regarding the accounting of the Central grant. Dr Gupta is reportedly understood to have offered to return around ₹12 crore to the university.

However, the university is said to have declined to accept the amount as a resolution of the matter, given the larger questions surrounding the utilisation and accounting of the grant.

The reported offer does not, by itself, establish financial wrongdoing. A complete audit of the project account, supporting bills, contracts, approvals and utilisation certificates would be necessary to establish how the grant was actually spent.

Earlier allegations concerning appointments

The controversy comes against the backdrop of separate allegations made against Dr Gupta regarding appointments and financial implications for Gujarat University during her tenure.

The ABVP has alleged that several temporary employees were removed after Dr Gupta took charge and that individuals considered close to her or associated with her family were subsequently appointed, in some cases at salaries substantially higher than those paid earlier.

The organisation has also alleged that individuals who were not university employees were appointed to senior positions and that some appointments were made without required government approval and contrary to UGC norms.

Among those named in the allegations is Pavan Pandit, who, according to the ABVP, was appointed as a director despite not being a university employee. The organisation has alleged that Pandit had been Dr Gupta’s PhD student.

The ABVP has also raised questions over the appointments of Chandrashekhar Jha and Dineshkumar, alleging that they had previously worked with Dr Gupta’s husband, Arun Kumar, at ONGC and were appointed after their retirement.

The allegations also extend to appointments in the Indian Knowledge Systems (IKS) department.

According to the ABVP, these appointments resulted in an additional financial burden of ₹10.93 crore on the university over a three-year period.

These remain allegations and would require verification through the university’s appointment records, government approvals, salary records and applicable UGC regulations.

Inquiry already underway into ₹10.93 crore allegations

Following the ABVP’s complaint, Gujarat University has constituted an inquiry committee to examine the allegations against Dr Gupta.

The committee comprises Syndicate member Hiren Jadav, IQA Director Professor C.G. Brahmbhatt and School of Law head Professor Bhavesh Bharad.

The inquiry is expected to examine the appointments and their financial implications.

The newly raised questions concerning the ₹40 crore PMJVK grant could potentially require a separate examination, particularly of the project’s bank account, expenditure records, remuneration approvals, consultancy payments and the subsequent movement of funds.

Earlier financial irregularity case at Gujarat University

Gujarat University has previously faced allegations of financial irregularities involving its Animation Department.

In that case, coordinator Kamaljit Lakhtariya was accused of misappropriating several crores from student fee collections and transferring the allegedly misappropriated funds into bank accounts of family members. Gujarat University subsequently lodged a complaint with the Crime Branch.

The earlier case had also prompted scrutiny of financial controls within the university.