CMJ promoter swindled Rs 2-cr fund

The Meghalaya government has found that the promoter of the controversial CMJ University, Chandra Mohan Jha, had discreetly withdrawn the varsity's endowment fund worth Rs 2 crore.

Jha, who named the varsity after himself, has remained untraceable since April 30 when the Governor's office filed an FIR against the varsity for "gross irregularities, including awarding fake degrees and PhDs". M S Rao, Principal Secretary to Meghalaya Governor R S Mooshahary, said the government had noticed the incident a couple of days ago .

"We have written to the education department to find out details of when and how Jha withdrew the sum. Preliminary queries indicate that he had withdrawn the sum within few days of creating it in 2010," Rao told The Indian Express. The endowment fund is a sum that private universities have to pledge to the state government.

The varsity officials have failed to reply to queries on "irregularities" by the Governor. Meanwhile, the state government is planning to accommodate the regular campus students of the CMJ University to other institutions in the state.