NITK Surathkal closes accounts offices after financial files deletion, launches probe

Mangaluru: NITK Surathkal has shut down its three accounts offices following the alleged deletion of key financial files from its systems. The institution has started an internal probe in this regard with the help of forensic experts and others, who were roped in to recover the deleted files and to find out whether any individuals were behind it.
According to highly placed sources, the crucial financial files available in the accounting software were allegedly deleted accidentally or deliberately. Usually, all the files have backups, but these files did not, which has raised major suspicions about the issue.
Meanwhile, the spokesperson of NITK, Surathkal, in a press statement, said the issue is a recent technical impediment involving a server malfunction in specific administrative offices. In response to the issue, the institute expeditiously mobilised a team of internal and external specialists to address the circumstances.
Several officials and teaching faculty who spoke to TOI on condition of anonymity said that the institute has three account offices in its administrative building. The incident took place last week.
"As per the information we received, the crucial finance files that include salary, bills, and other payments of ongoing construction work were deleted beyond retrieval. The contractors of various ongoing construction work have already been affected as their payments have been delayed. In the coming days, it will also affect the salaries of the teaching and non-teaching faculty," they said.
Soon after the issue, the institution transferred several individuals from the accounts department to other departments. "It is true that there is a serious issue at the finance department where important files were deleted. What is surprising is why there was no backup of the files. The missing files are believed to be beyond recovery, sparking concerns," a senior professor added.
Sources also added that forensic experts were roped in to investigate the issue, and they started working on Tuesday. "All the staff linked to the accounts department, both temporary and permanent, were called individually by the senior officials at the institute for a probe," another source added.
When contacted, Dr Mohit P Tahiliani, Professor in-charge (Central Computer Center), maintained that all servers of the institution are working fine and there is no technical issue. Several calls made to Prof B Ravi, director of NITK, Surathkal, went unanswered.