The Economic Offences Wing has intensified its criminal investigation into the alleged misuse of approximately ₹30 crore in government funds at the Science and Technology Entrepreneurs Park Society operating on the campus of Harcourt Butler Technical University in Kanpur. Following a prolonged inquiry, the EOW has registered an FIR against former Director Prof. Rakesh Kumar Trivedi and former Senior Manager Gopal Mehrotra under provisions relating to criminal breach of trust.
What the EOW Alleges
According to the EOW, STEP-HBTI received nearly ₹30 crore in government funding between 2010 and 2017 under various state-supported programmes. Investigators allege the funds were not utilised in accordance with prescribed rules and approved procedures, and claim several key financial records, expenditure documents and original files were either unavailable or not produced during the investigation, raising concerns about transparency in how the money was managed.
Investigators have separately flagged procedural irregularities in how implementing agencies were selected, how contracts were executed, and how payments and projects funded through the society were approved and administered. The EOW is examining whether financial decisions were taken without approval from the competent authority, and whether such decisions resulted in the alleged misuse of public funds.
A Two-Year Path From Inquiry to FIR
The case followed a lengthy administrative process before reaching criminal registration. The EOW submitted its final progress report to the Uttar Pradesh government in December 2025, and the state government, after examining the findings, approved the recommendation for a criminal investigation in February 2026, a gap of several months between the agency’s own conclusions and formal state clearance to proceed criminally.
Officials said documentary evidence, official records and witness statements collected during the inquiry indicate a prima facie role for both the former Director and the former Senior Manager. Prof. Trivedi’s own statement has already been recorded, while notices have been issued to nearly 20 other individuals connected to the society’s operations to appear for questioning, an unusually wide net that suggests investigators are still mapping how far responsibility for the alleged irregularities extends beyond the two named officials.
Adding institutional weight to the case, Trivedi held prominent positions well beyond STEP-HBTI itself, having chaired the Indian Institute of Chemical Engineers and served as vice president of the Oil Technologists Association of India during his tenure, alongside decades as a professor at HBTU with a substantial research record in bio-fuels and industrial chemistry, a professional standing that makes the current allegations notably more consequential for the institutions he has been associated with.
Missing Records at the Centre of the Case
According to the agency, several original institutional records were allegedly never formally handed over to successor officials once the concerned office-bearers’ tenures ended, and certain key documents remained unavailable throughout the inquiry, making it difficult for investigators to verify financial transactions and administrative decisions from that period. This documentation gap continues to form a central and complicating element of the ongoing investigation, since establishing precisely how ₹30 crore was spent becomes considerably harder without the underlying paperwork.
STEP-HBTI was established in 1986 to promote entrepreneurship, technical training, self-employment and skill development among young people, implementing several government-supported training programmes over the years through state grants. Investigators are now examining how those funds were managed and whether their use complied with applicable regulations.
Legal experts note that in financial irregularity cases, documentary evidence, accounting records, administrative approvals and witness testimony play a critical role during judicial proceedings, and stress that the registration of an FIR or the filing of allegations does not itself establish criminal guilt, with liability to be determined only through evidence presented before the court. The EOW said the investigation remains ongoing, with further legal action to follow if additional evidence, financial irregularities or the involvement of other individuals emerges as the comprehensive review of the society’s financial and administrative records continues.
