Red-faced LNMU sacks staffer who stole rail ticket of guest professor for refund
The incident came to light on Tuesday when professor BN Singh, travelling in Sampark Kranti Express, was asked by a travel ticket examiner to vacate his seat as his ticket was cancelled on Tuesday
A computer operator working on daily wage contract at LN Mithila University (LNMU) in Darbhanga was dismissed Wednesday after it was found that he allegedly stole the railway ticket of a retired professor on Tuesday and pocketed the cash refund after getting it cancelled, even as the unsuspecting professor had to disembark from a New Delhi-bound train, university authorities said.
The incident came to light on Tuesday when professor BN Singh, travelling in Sampark Kranti Express, was asked by a travel ticket examiner (TTE) to vacate his seat as his ticket was cancelled on Tuesday. An embarrassed professor had to get down at Muzaffarpur railway station, after which he reported the incident to LNMU authorities.
An LNMU staff member made enquiries and managed some leads, after which the Government Railway Police (GRP) searched the CCTV footage that showed computer operator Krishna Kanhaiya Choudhary at the ticket booking counter on Tuesday evening.
Further investigations revealed that earlier on the same day, the professor, who was invited by the LNMU to conduct viva of a PhD researcher, had submitted his ticket to the university for reimbursement. Kanhaiya allegedly stole the ticket and handed him a copy instead, a source said.
Kanhaiya, who gave a written confession to the university that he received ₹1100 as refund, later denied his involvement on camera saying he had gone to the railway station’s booking counter to enquire about a rail ticket.
LNMU spokesperson Chandrabhanu Singh, in a press release on Wednesday, said Kanhaiya has been removed from his job as his misdeed has put university administration to shame.
Vijay Kumar Yadav, head of the post graduate department of economics at the LNMU, meanwhile, submitted a written complaint against the accused at the LNMU police station. “He stole a confirmed rail ticket of external examiner Professor B N Singh, who was here to conduct viva of a PhD researcher,” the complaint states.
Police said they are probing the matter.