Shillong
The Central Agency Enforcement Directorate (ED) has temporarily attached assets worth about Rs 20.28 crore of a university Chancellor and his family members in Shillong in the case of issuing fake certificates by taking money. In a release issued by the ED, an official said that these assets include four immovable assets worth Rs 19.28 crore in New Delhi and movable assets worth Rs 1 crore as bank balance, which have been attached under the provisions of the Money Laundering Act (PMLA), 2002.
Earlier, the ED Sub-Regional Office in Shillong issued an provisional attachment order on July 3, which said that under the provisions of PMLA, 2002, CMJ University Chancellor Chandramohan Jha and his family members were asked to attach assets worth Rs 20.28 crore. The ED said in a statement that these immovable properties were purchased between 2013 and 2022, while on 16 December 2024, a member of his family was transferred to a member of his family in an attempt to hide the bank balance.
IAS officer lodged a complaint
The ED started an investigation on the basis of an FIR lodged against the CMJ University at the Crime Investigation Department (CID) police station in the East Khasi Hills Shillong district of Meghalaya. The complaint was lodged by the Indian Administrative Service (IAS) officer MS Rao on the instructions of the then Governor of the state, RS Mushahari, who was the guest (visitor) of the CMJ University. The ED said, “The investigation of the case by CID revealed many irregularities related to the university, including selling degrees. But the case was not only that through which the university stakeholders earned a criminal income of Rs 83 crore.”
Search for three days in December 2024
Earlier on 31 March 2017, 30 November 2021 and 11 July 2024, provisional attachment orders were passed and assets worth Rs 27.66 crore, Rs 13.54 crore and Rs 7.56 crore were seized in the possession of Chancellor Jha and his family members respectively. A bank balance of Rs 1.15 crore was also seized after a search for three days in December 2024 to find out the source of illegal income in various premises of Chancellor Jha.
SC dissolved university
In February this year, the Supreme Court ordered the CMJ University to dissolve due to its ‘mismanagement, malpractice, indiscipline and fraud in intentions’. Following the order of the apex court, the Meghalaya government appointed Education Joint Secretary D. Lyngdoh as the administrator of CMJ University to close the university in a manner approved by the state government. The CMJ University provided around 20570 fake degrees between 2010 and 2013.