MADURAI: After a superintendent in the Directorate of Distance Education (DDE), Madurai Kamaraj University (MKU), was allegedly involved in misappropriation of funds several times, an inquiry committee has recommended that he be suspended immediately. The university officials have also filed a police complaint with the Nagamalai Pudukottai police, seeking action against the accused.
Speaking to TNIE, highly-placed sources from MKU said that the accused, S Karthik, Superintendent (Seminar Section) in DDE, was in charge of distributing funds for seminars.
When Additional Controller of Examinations (i/c) and Head of Journalism Department S Saleema Rabiyath organised seminar classes for students studying, Karthik obtained the signature of DDE Director P Muthupandi to disburse money to four persons, including Saleema. While Karthik deposited the money into the accounts of three persons through an SBI branch near MKU, he did not deposit Rs 20,800 into Saleema's account. Instead, he deposited it in his personal account on June 26.
When Saleema informed Muthupandi that she did not receive money from the DDE, the latter contacted the bank and Karthik was caught. Following this, Muthupandi lodged a complaint with the convener committee of the MKU. The inquiry committee, consisting of MKU Controller of Examinations (i/c) M Dharmaraj, Professor B Mayil Vaganan and Special Officer Ramasamy conducted an inquiry, verified the documents, and recommended the Registrar (i/c) M Ramakrishnan to suspend Karthik on Wednesday.
Speaking on the condition of anonymity, a member of the convener committee of MKU said that Karthik should be suspended on Thursday based on the inquiry committee’s recommendation.
Meanwhile, Karthik returned the money to the DDE director. “Karthik was involved in misappropriation of funds earlier as well. He had collected several thousands from students to issue certificates earlier, and was caught, but managed to escape,” the source said.
Karthik is likely to be suspended on Friday, and the MKU officials may dismiss him based on the police investigation.