SUBHASH MISHRA
Dhanbad, Dec 30: Dr PK Singh, a Senior scientist and former director of the Central Institute of Mineral Fuels Research (CIMFR), was suspended two days before his retirement in connection with his alleged involvement in irregularities of Rs 178 crores consultancy fee fund distribution.
“A letter from Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR), New Delhi headquarter arrived on Thursday evening regarding the suspension of Dr PK Singh, who is scheduled to retire from the institution on December 31. Along with Dr Singh, the CSIR has also suspended administrative officer Dasharath Murmu in connection with the same,” said the official sources.
The local officers of CIMFR refused to provide any information about the real ground for the suspension.
However, Dr Singh and Dasharath Murmu were suspended regarding distributed consultancy fee honorarium among the scientists and staff members without seeking approval consent from Delhi Headquarters (CSIR) in 2021.
As per the information, the CSIR administrators had directed to stop the distribution but the amount was already allotted to the concerned scientists and staff of CIMFR. CSIR management issued another letter in March 2021 to realize the amount from the salaries of its scientists and staff. The concerned scientists filed a writ in court against realization.
The matter was later handed over to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) and the Central Vigilance Commission (CVC) for further investigation.
Besides the Senior scientist, Dr Singh also served as the Director of CIMFR at Dhanbad for five years (2017 to 2021). After completing his five-year term in 2021, he did not receive an extension and began working as a Senior Scientist at the institution.
Apart from his research work, Dr Singh was also shot into the limelight for presenting the Jharia mines fire controlling project when the Dhanbad-Chandrapura rail line was closed in wake of underground fire danger between 2017 to 2019.
