₹2.85 crore fraud reported at TANUVAS; Avadi CCB investigates

The Avadi City Police’s Central Crime Branch (CCB) is investigating a complaint, alleging a financial misappropriation at the Tamil Nadu Veterinary and Animal Sciences University (TANUVAS) campus in Madhavaram, Chennai.

The irregularities came to light during an audit of the Veterinary Incubation Foundation (VIF), conducted on August 5, 2025. After the findings were submitted to the university registrar, TANUVAS constituted a departmental inquiry committee, including chartered accountants. The probe found that funds were systematically diverted from several university-linked bank accounts over four years, between 2021 and 2025.

According to the inquiry, R. Vadivel, who joined TANUVAS as a temporary accounts officer in 2019 and later served as temporary CEO of VIF from 2023, allegedly siphoned off money by transferring funds to his personal account, those of associates, and private firms, not connected to the university.

The inquiry also pointed to the involvement of V.L. Rajini, an assistant at the Centre for Animal Health Studies, who was allegedly linked to unauthorised transactions and has since been suspended. Police have pegged the total misappropriation at about ₹2.85 crore and said efforts are under way to trace the acussed who is on the run, and identify other conspirators, and recover the diverted public funds.