A student who offered to help his collegemates submit their exam forms and fees at Ranchi University’s Ram Lakhan Singh Yadav (RLSY) College allegedly took Rs 2,800 from each student and deposited only Rs 1 into the college’s account, authorities said.
According to college officials, Ranchi University had scheduled undergraduate fifth-semester exam form submission for the 2022–26 batch last week. Students were required to deposit Rs 2,800 online as exam fees to the college. However, as the online payment system was down, many were unable to do so. This was when the Mathematics student offered his help, convincing many to hand over their fees to him and assuring them that he would submit the money to the college.
However, college officials said it has since emerged that he pocketed the money and submitted only Rs 1 per student — in some cases, not even that — into the college account.
The principal of the college, Vishnu Charan Mahto, said the accused student reportedly approached peers on Thursday evening, saying the online system was down and offering to complete the students’ form submissions. “Possibly using edited formats, he issued receipts showing amounts of Rs 2,800 while only a token amount was actually deposited,” he said.
“The department currently has no regular teacher to supervise document verification, and the student took advantage of the situation, created receipts, and circulated them among peers. The discrepancy was caught immediately by our staff,” the principal said.
Meanwhile, a five-member committee comprising three teachers and two non-teaching staff was formed to individually verify each admission and exam form, and the receipts submitted during the period.
“After complaints reached faculty members, the college confronted the student the same evening and called senior teachers the next day. Parents were also summoned, and the money collected was returned to the affected students,” said Mahto.
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Staff began the verification process on Friday, and it is expected to continue until the process is complete.
Ranchi University and the concerned bank have been informed and invited to inspect the records. “No staff members were involved in the irregularity. We will find out how and where the student diverted the money and created a forged receipt for his peers,” the principal said.
Administrators acknowledged systemic gaps and termed the incident a warning. The principal said college authorities would strengthen counter checks, ensure teacher presence, and tighten liaison with the bank and university to prevent a recurrence.
Disciplinary action against the student is pending the committee’s final report, authorities said.
