Ghaziabad: The Deputy Registrar, Firms, Societies and Chits, has appointed U Tiwary and Associates to audit the financial accounts of Ramlila Samity, Rajnagar. The firm is required to submit its report within four weeks. This action follows a complaint by former municipal corporator Rajendra Tyagi, who alleged financial irregularities in the society since 2016. The registrar’s office declared the committee ineffective in Sept last year.The deputy registrar’s office, exercising its quasi-judicial authority, will investigate the matter under Section 24 of the Societies Registration Act, 1860. The committee has been directed that its office bearer is responsible for producing all records and documents requested by the inquiry officer. Failure to do so will result in punitive action.The firm will audit all records, including assets, bank accounts and the organisation’s activities from 2016-2017 onward.The complainant in the case, Tyagi, who is the founder and former president of the Samity, flagged financial irregularities, alleging that president Jai Kumar Gupta and some executive members were engaged in fraud and corruption since 2016, when Gupta first assumed the presidency.“Passbooks, chequebooks, other financial instruments, all invoices and estimates, details of all records showing income and expenditure and details of movable/immovable assets, membership fee books, donors’ printed cash-receipt books, and all other financial records must be audited as there has been widespread embezzlement of funds after collecting donations,” he said.Akash Vashishtha, another founding member and advocate, said that Gupta and some executive committee members collected cash donations from the public but did not keep any records.“In 2023 alone, Rs 53 lakh was collected, whereas the society renewal has remained pending since July 2022,” he said, adding that the last renewal certificate dated March 16, 2018, was valid till July 18, 2022.“With no renewal certificate, the society loses any recognition in law as a society, and is not entitled to collect any amount of money from the public,” he said.
