By: Express News ServicePune | September 22, 2025 10:50 PM IST 3 min readPolice have identified the suspect as Dr Virendra Singh Asaram Yadav, who is in his early 40s and holds a doctorate degree and is an Associate Professor of Chemistry with a private college in Wagholi (Representative image)PUNE CITY police have arrested a Chemistry professor working with a private college in Wagholi on the charges of creating a fake letter, with forged signature and letterhead of Union Minister for Science Technology Dr Jitendra Singh, in which prestigious Shanti Swaroop Bhatnagar Award was announced to him.Police have identified the suspect as Dr Virendra Singh Asaram Yadav, who is in his early 40s and holds a doctorate degree and is an Associate Professor of Chemistry with a private college in Wagholi. Police have booked him and his unidentified accomplices on the charges of cheating and forgery. A First Information Report (FIR) in the case was registered at Wagholi police station by the security officer of the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research – National Chemical Laboratory (CSIR NCL) after an inquiry was conducted into the forged letter by the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research – Human Resource Development Group (CSIR HRDG).An officer from the Wagholi police station said, “Initial probe suggests that the suspect prepared a fake letter by forging the signature of the Union Minister of State (Independent Charge) for Science and Technology and his letterhead. The fake letter stated that the suspect’s name has been finalised for the prestigious Shanti Swaroop Bhatnagar Award. Incidentally, the name of the award has been changed to the National Science Award — Rashtriya Vigyan Puraskar — since the last couple of years. Investigation till now revealed that while the suspect did not submit the letter to any government or statutory body, he did share it with his friends and colleagues to raise his stature among his peers.”The officer, “We believe that the motive could have been to further misuse the letter to get a promotion or raise and recognition. But the serious part of the crime was forging the signature of the union minister and the letterhead. After he shared the letter with friends and colleagues, it was circulated on social media. Some ministry officials came across the letter earlier this month and a probe was launched. An inquiry by CSIR HRDG revealed that the letter was forged and the CSIR NCL officials were directed to file a case. We are now investigating how he forged the letter and what he was going to do with it.”“After the conclusion of the inquiry, the CSIR NCL officials approached the police and an FIR was registered. We are now investigating whether the suspect has any accomplices.” the officer added. Yadav was arrested by the police and has been remanded to police custody till September 26.Click here to join Express Pune WhatsApp channel and get a curated list of our stories© The Indian Express Pvt LtdTags:Jitendra Singh