DAVANAGERE: The CBI’s anti-corruption wing on Saturday arrested Davangere University professor Gayathri Devaraja in connection with a bribery case involving members of a NAAC inspection committee of which she is a member.
Gayathri was a former registrar (administration) of Davanagere University and was serving as senior professor, Department of Studies in Microbiology. She was a part of the seven-member inspection team of the National Assessment and Accreditation Council (NAAC).
The arrested persons included the chairman of the inspection committee and six members. Those arrested also include the vice-chancellor of the Koneru Lakshmaiah Education Foundation (KLEF) in Andhra Pradesh’s Guntur and two more executives.
In an official statement, the CBI confirmed that a case had been registered against the office bearers of the educational institution as well as the NAAC inspection team members. The allegations involve offering undue advantages to public servants in exchange for favourable NAAC ratings, specifically for A++ accreditation.
KLEF president Koneru Satyanarayana, NAAC former deputy adviser L Manjunatha Rao, professor and director (IQAC-NAAC), Bangalore University, M Hanumanthappa, and NAAC adviser M S Shyamsundar have also been named as accused in the FIR, the CBI said.
In an operation, the CBI arrested G P Saradhi Varma, KLEF vice-chancellor, Koneru Raja Hareen, vice-president of KLEF, and A Ramakrishna, director of KL University, Hyderabad campus, for their alleged involvement in bribing the members of a NAAC inspection committee for getting A accreditation, they said.
The investigation agency also conducted searches at 20 locations across various cities, including Vijayawada, Chennai, Bengaluru, Palamu, Sambalpur, Bhopal, Bilaspur, Gautam Buddh Nagar, and New Delhi. During these searches, the CBI sleuths seized Rs 37 lakh cash, six laptops, one mobile phone, and other incriminating documents.
The agency stated that a total of 14 individuals are involved in the case, and confirmed that a investigation is underway to uncover the full extent of the crime and identify others involved.