Capt. Kshitij Sharma, serving as the Security and Estate Officer, was directed by Dr. Raghuram Rao Akkinepally to retrieve documents from the official laptop of Mr. PJP Singh Waraich. Upon retrieval, thousands of files revealed strong evidence of malpractices during the tenure of Dr. V. M. Katoch as Chairman and Mr. PJP Singh Waraich as Registrar. One notable case involved a cake business operated by a family member of Mr. Waraich.
The documents clearly established that Mr. Waraich was involved in this business during office hours, using NIPER’s official infrastructure for its promotion. He also utilized his subordinate staff, including Mr. Manoj Sood and Mrs. Usha, for this purpose.
Upon uncovering these documents, Dr. Akkinepally reported the findings to the Board of Governors. However, this action displeased Dr. V. M. Katoch, as some of the evidence implicated him as well.
Dr. Akkinepally recounted: “As Director, when I brought this matter to the attention of Dr. Katoch and other board members, Dr. Katoch was furious.”
To substantiate his claims, Dr. Akkinepally shared email exchanges between the family members of Mr. Waraich and the Registrar regarding the cake business. These included:
• Email dated January 23, 2018: Contained photographs and details of a cake recipe.
• Email from rgoffice2011 dated January 4, 2016: Referenced a Soul Bowl account for Pop “N” Shop. During official hours, Mrs. Usha from the Registrar’s office sent details of the SBoP NIPER Branch and UTR – STBP316004647843, transferring ₹6,000 to an outside party for an event linked to Mr. Waraich’s family member.
• Further email exchanges: Revealed discussions about studio rentals for the family member’s business.
In response to these findings, Dr. Akkinepally issued a charge sheet against Mr. Waraich for multiple acts of misconduct, leading to his suspension. However, this move was swiftly overturned by Dr. Katoch, who worked through the night to revoke the suspension by morning.
Article 12 of the charge sheet specifically addressed the cake business.
The evidence indicated that Mr. Waraich and his family were using official residential accommodations for commercial purposes, promoting their business interests through official channels. These activities were conducted without any approval from the competent authority.
Additional findings included:
- The website of Joe’s Designer Cakes listed NIPER Complex, Sector 67 as its address.
- No inquiry was conducted into the charge sheet, leaving key questions unanswered:
- Who was paying the electricity bills, and were they charged at commercial rates?
- Were other NIPER employees, aside from Mr. Sood and Mrs. Usha, involved in these activities?
- Did other business ventures beyond baking operate from NIPER premises?
- A PAN card was discovered under the name Waraich International—what was its purpose?
Dr. Akkinepally noted that a fair investigation could have uncovered much more. Instead, Dr. Katoch and Mr. Rajneesh Tingal, Joint Secretary, not only halted the inquiry but also took steps to remove him.
“This raises serious doubts—were Dr. Katoch and Mr. Tingal also beneficiaries of these commercial transactions? Otherwise, why would they go to such lengths to protect Mr. Waraich?” Dr. Akkinepally questioned.
A thorough investigation could have exposed the full extent of the wrongdoing. However, by reinstating Mr. Waraich as Registrar, he was placed back in control of the records—potentially allowing him to erase evidence under the NIPER Act and Statutes.
