Bharathiar University Vice-Chancellor arrested for taking bribe from an associate professor
The vice-chancellor of Bharathiar University in Coimbatore, Dr A Ganapathi, has been arrested after he was caught taking a bribe for regularising the service of an assistant professor who is on probation.
The arrest was made by officials from the Directorate of Vigilance and Anti-Corruption after the assistant professor approached them. "A trap was laid to catch the vice-chancellor red handed after Suresh, an assistant professor in the Chemistry department, complained of a demand for bribe for securing his position," a senior officer told NDTV.
"The vice-chancellor demanded Rs 30 lakh as bribe. He received a token of Rs 1 lakh in cash and the balance as post-dated signed cheques, the payee column left blank," an officer said.
The appointment of vice-chancellors in the state had come under the scanner over the last several years. Academicians and activists have alleged that political clout and money power have influenced the appointments, leading to a decline in standards and increase in corrupt practices at universities.
Recently, during his tenure as Tamil Nadu Governor, Vidyasagar Rao rejected the names proposed by a search panel for the appointment of vice-chancellor to Anna University in Chennai. Mr Rao had appointed a committee headed by former Chief Justice of India Justice RM Lodha to recommend suitable names for the post.
The vice-chancellor who was arrested today earlier headed the biotechnology department at Bharathidasan University. He took charge as vice-chancellor of Bharathiar University in 2016. Last year, he was booked under the Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Amendment Act, 2015 after a Dalit research scholar had complained that he deliberately scuttled her chances of becoming an associate professor.