Two serving college vice-chancellors, one in all whom is the pinnacle of a central college, are amongst these named in an official probe in Uttar Pradesh for his or her alleged position in a pretend diploma rip-off that noticed 1000’s of individuals holding positions of main faculty academics and different authorities jobs. helped to defraud. State.
The two serving vice-chancellors are amongst 19 individuals named within the probe by the Special Investigation Team (SIT) into irregularities associated to the Sampurnanand Sanskrit University in Varanasi.
Both the VCs — Prof Rajneesh Kumar Shukla of the central government-run Mahatma Gandhi Antarrashtriya Hindi Vishwavidyalaya in Wardha, Maharashtra, and Prof Gangadhar Panda of the Jharkhand authorities’s Kolhan University in Chaibasa, Jharkhand — are former officers of Sampurnanand Sanskrit Vishwavidyalaya.
Prof Shukla was appointed to his present place in April 2019; Prof Panda took over as VC in May 2020.
Professor Shukla can be a member of the just lately constituted Search-cum-Selection Committee to elect 18 non-ex-officio members of the Indian Council of Social Science Research (ICSSR). Professor of Comparative Philosophy and Religion, he has beforehand served as Member Secretary of the Indian Council of Philosophical Research and the Indian Council of Historical Research (ICHR).
Sampurnanand Sanskrit University comes underneath the UP authorities. The SIT probed alleged irregularities within the college between 2004 and 2014. In its 99-page report dated November 18, 2020, the SIT concluded that “there was lapse/disregard of duty on the part of the registrars, examination controllers, system managers of Sampoornanand Sanskrit University between 2004-2014”.
Named Panda and Shukla among the many 9 registrars/controllers of examinations, deputy registrars and assistant registrars within the college, the SIT report stated, “They didn’t carry out their duties correctly, ensuing within the verification division fraudulently doing their job. And the information of the examination division had been tampered with on a big scale.
In March this yr, the UP residence division had written to the college saying it had determined to take motion in opposition to these named within the report underneath the UP Government Servants (Discipline and Appeal) Rules, 1999. Pay enhance resulting in dismissal from service, which additionally disqualifies an individual from future employment.
The residence division sought particulars of the present employment standing of the individuals nominated for additional motion, and requested the college to take motion in opposition to 10 others, who’re nonetheless employed with it. The Sampurnanand Sanskrit University administration didn’t reply to requests for touch upon whether or not it had acted as suggested by the state authorities.
On September 2 this yr, the SIT issued a discover to Shukla to file his assertion.
Shukla informed The Indian Express, “I’ve challenged the order of the SIT. The 2020 report can’t be known as remaining. The truth is that because the registrar, I used to be the primary to behave because the college stored getting complaints about frauds from the then state authorities. I had submitted my assertion within the type of an affidavit to the SIT final month. On the premise of my FIR, two workplace bearers of the college had been despatched to jail. The SIT ought to have recorded my assertion earlier than making ready its report.
Panda stated, “While the report was being ready, the SIT had recorded my assertion. I had made it clear that the paperwork got here to me solely as a formality. In any case, I’ve not obtained any communication from the UP authorities or the college on the report. I’m performing my responsibility as VC (in Jharkhand) with full dedication.”
Shukla was the performing registrar from March 23 to December 18, 2011, whereas Panda held the place from February 11, 2009 to August 6, 2010.
The SIT scrutinized the levels of 5,797 academics working in 69 districts of UP, and located 1,086 levels issued by Sampurnanand Sanskrit Vishwavidyalaya to be pretend. The SIT flagged one other 207 levels as suspected of fraud.
“Those who obtained fake degrees from Sampurnanand Sanskrit Vishwavidyalaya may have also got jobs in secondary education, higher secondary education and other government departments, and this requires a detailed investigation by the departments concerned… tampered with the records of the examination department. Has been. Large scale more records have also been destroyed, which is a serious unconstitutional and criminal offence,” the SIT stated.
SIT officer Vijay Kumar Singh declined to touch upon Shukla’s assertion. The detailed questionnaire despatched to the Ministry of Education didn’t elicit any response.
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With inputs from TheIndianEXPRESS
