THRISSUR: The Registrar of the Kerala University of Health Sciences was caught on camera while allegedly taking a bribe of Rs 50,000 during a sting operation conducted by a Malayalam news channel. The bribe was reportedly offered to the Registrar for assisting a firm to get a contract worth `1.5 crore for printing the answersheets of the university.
The Thrissur correspondent of the news channel approached the Registrar of the university which has been facing several other allegations of corruption after its inception in 2010, by taking the name of a fake company to print medical journals. But, the Registrar reportedly told him after two conversations and several phone calls that the viable ‘deal’ would be that of printing the answersheets of the varsity, the news channel claimed.
The reported sting operation was conducted at a luxury hotel in Thrissur, and the registrar before taking a bundle of 500 rupee notes, offered as bribe for assisting the company to get the contract, was heard saying on the video of the sting operation aired by the news channel on Sunday that the officials of the varsity could assist the firm to get the deal even without a tender, if they print the answersheets of the university for once.
The Registrar said that the officials could write notes that the printing done by the firm was excellent and could support the firm to get contract in coming years as well.
Prompt Action
Thrissur: Soon after the visuals and audio of the sting operation was aired by the news channel, the officials at the office of Governor P Sathasivam, who is also the Chancellor of KUHS, and Health Minister V S Sivakumar rang up MKC Nair, the Vice-Chancellor of the university, and asked to serve university Registrar Dr V Ipe Varghese a suspension order pending inquiry. “The secretary to the Governor and the minister spoke to me on the phone over the matter and they suggested suspending the Registrar and I have e-mailed a suspension order pending inquiry to Dr Ipe. We do not know at present where the Registrar is and no explanation has been sought from him over the sting operation, neither has he come out with one,” MKC Nair said.