GUWAHATI: The Vice-Chancellor of Tripura University, Prof Vijaykumar Laxmikantrao Dharurkar, has reportedly resigned after he was allegedly caught accepting a bribe in a sting operation by a local channel.
The ‘Vanguard’ played videos showing Dharurkar negotiating and then accepting cash from an unidentified man. The channel claimed the person is a representative of a Kolkata-based printing firm.
The VC was not available for comments. However, sources in the university denied the bribery charge with some suspecting that the videos could be doctored.
Reports reaching here on Saturday suggested that Dr Sangram Sinha, who is the senior-most faculty of the varsity, had been appointed as the interim VC. The sources in the university did not confirm it.
Meanwhile, the Tripura unit of National Students’ Union of India (NSUI) has demanded Dharurkar’s arrest. The students’ body said his act had tarnished the image of the Central varsity. It warned of an agitation across the state if the VC was not arrested.
Two months ago, Dharurkar had drawn flak by hoisting a flag of the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) within the varsity campus.
On July 10, the ABVP had organised a programme on the varsity campus to commemorate the 125th anniversary of Swami Vivekananda’s Chicago speech. Dharurkar had hoisted the flag there and attended other programmes.
His act had ruffled the feathers of opposition the CPM in the BJP-ruled state which asked if he was a member of Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh.