BHAGALPUR, June 7 -- Tilka Manjhi Bhagalpur University (TMBU) in Bihar is facing criticism after several students alleged that staff in the examination department extorted money from them in exchange for admit cards and mark sheets, which later turned out to be fake. Taking serious note of the incident, Vice Chancellor (VC) Prof Jawahar Lal has formed a team to investigate the allegations. Controller of Examination (CE) Prof Krishna Kumar has been issued a show-cause notice. "Based on the preliminary investigation, assistant Sanjay Kumar has been suspended, and three clerical staff members-Mohammad Taslim, Shashi Kumar, and Manik Chand-have been transferred," said Prof Deepak Kumar Dinkar, the public relations officer (PRO) of the VC, while speaking to HT over the phone on Friday. He added, "Seventeen mobile phones belonging to the staff under suspicion have been seized for further investigation, and strict legal action will be taken against all those involved." He also said, "The controller of examination, Prof Krishna Kumar, has been served a show-cause notice and asked to submit his explanation within 24 hours." Additionally, a contractual staff member, Avineet Kumar, has been barred from visiting the examination department until the investigation concludes. Notably, several TMBU students were debarred from the ongoing final-year graduation (old course) examinations after their admit cards were found to be fake. These students subsequently approached the CE, alleging that they had paid between Rs.3,000 and Rs.8,000 to Sanjay Kumar for the admit cards. One student, who appeared with a forged mark sheet, claimed that staff had demanded Rs.8,000 for issuing a mark sheet with inflated marks. "When I asked for my College Leaving Certificate (CLC), to my shock, they declared my mark sheet fake," said Manish Kumar of Marwari College. He added, "When I tried to meet the staff member, he was absent, and his phone was switched off." As many as 30 students were barred from appearing in the examinations due to the fake admit cards. Reliable sources within the university told HT, "Corruption in the examination department is not new; it has been going on for a long time. Fortunately or unfortunately, the matter has now come to light, drawing attention from senior authorities and prompting immediate investigations by officials."...