The Bihar Education Department has suspended an assistant teacher over allegations of serious financial irregularities, including cash withdrawals of more than Rs 1 crore from various accounts of a school where he previously served as acting headmaster.

The accused, currently posted as an assistant teacher at Videhi Project Girls’ High School in Raipur, Samastipur, was the acting headmaster of Amshon Kunwar Higher Secondary School at Bharthipur in Vaishali district when the alleged irregularities took place.

“The withdrawals were made from different accounts of the school and the total cash withdrawal was more than Rs 1 crore,” an official familiar with the matter said, adding that the accused teacher failed to maintain the cashbooks of the student fund and development fund in accordance with financial rules.

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The department has also flagged alleged irregularities relating to vendors’ GST numbers and tax deductions, besides purchases of materials without following the prescribed procedure. “The inquiry found that the financial records were not being maintained as required. There were issues with transaction entries, vouchers and the documentation relating to vendors and purchases,” the official said.

The procurement process was also examined as part of the inquiry. “The prescribed procedure for procurement was not followed in the purchase of materials,” the official said.

The department had sought an explanation from the accused teacher before taking disciplinary action. After considering his response, the authorities described the allegations as “serious financial misconduct” and ordered his suspension under the Bihar Government Servants (Classification, Control and Appeal) Rules.

“A formal chargesheet will now be issued against him. A detailed departmental inquiry will examine the charges and establish the facts. The Regional Deputy Director of Education, Tirhut Division, has been appointed as the Inquiry Officer, while the District Programme Officer (Secondary Education), Vaishali, has been designated as the Presenting Officer,” the official said, adding that further action will depend on the outcome of the inquiry.