Mohali, April 29 -- At least 39 international students at Chandigarh University (CU) were allegedly duped of Rs.24 lakh after two admission staff diverted fee payments into their personal bank accounts and issued forged receipts to cover up the fraud. The scam surfaced on February 3 when a Nepalese student reported that his fee status showed "unpaid" even though he had already transferredRs.2.1 lakh towards tuition fee and hostel charges. He said he had been instructed by admission officers Danish Mahajan and Akshay Wesley to deposit the amount into their personal accounts. When questioned, the accused allegedly attempted to justify the transactions by producing "consultancy receipts", which were later found to be fabricated. After the university launched an internal probe, it emerged that at least 39 other foreign students had been duped in a similar fashion, and told to bypass official payment channels. In some cases, students were allegedly redirected to third-party agents, posing as consultants, creating an informal payment network through which commissions were siphoned off. The total misappropriated amount has been pegged at Rs.23.7 lakh. Investigators are now examining bank transactions, digital evidence and communication records to trace the money trail and identify any additional individuals involved in the network. Following a complaint by CU authorities, a case has been registered under Sections 316(2) (criminal breach of trust) and 318 (4) (cheating and dishonestly inducing the delivery of property) of theBharatiya Nyaya Sanhita. International students usually follow a structured process to pay fees. For Bhutanese students, payments are made through the Bhutan Trade Facilitation Network (BTFN), where they submit RTGS forms along with university invoices and required documents at local banks. The amount is then transferred as per the university's official payment instructions. After the transaction, students receive a unique transaction reference (UTR) number from the sending bank and a reference number from the receiving bank, which are submitted to the accounts department for verification and feeupdates. "In some cases, students can also visit the accounts office and pay the fees directly in cash," said a student, requesting anonymity. Multiple attempts to reach out to the university did not elicit any response....