By Kritika Gangwar
An associate professor got arrested last Sunday, he taught chemistry at a private college in Wagholi as he forged documents implying that he was selected for the coveted Shanti Swarup Bhatnagar Award for scientific achievements. His name is Virendra Singh Yadav and is from Mathura, Uttar Pradesh.
Somay Mundhe, Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCP) for zone IV said, “We arrested Virendra Singh Yadav following a complaint lodged by an official from the CSIR-National Chemistry Laboratory, Pune. We produced him before a court that ordered his custodial remand till September 26 and have also recorded his statement”.
He got caught because he claimed an award which was replaced by the Rashtriya Vigyan Puraskar scheme two years ago, in 2023. His forged letter written on September 13, 2025 having signatures of Jitendra Singh, minister of state for science and technology which declared the award for 2025-2026 fell into the hands of the scientific community.
“The Council for Scientific and Industrial Research’s Human Resource Development Group (CSIR-HRDG) conducted an inquiry and found the letter and the signature forged, and that no selection was made for the 2025-26 Rashtriya vigyan Puraskar”, stated the FIR registered.
The FIR included that the NCL’s senior security officer and the administrative office had made a visit to the college in Wagholi and interrogated Virendra Singh Yadav who admitted him writing the forged letter.
An official saw the photo on the internet and checked it, and the ministry did not carry out any such letter. The ministry called for a complaint against him for forgery.