NEW DELHI: Obaid Siddiqui, a senior professor at the Jamia Millia Islamia University, was suspended for alleged misconduct on Wednesday, just a day after he filed a writ petition against Vice-Chancellor Talat Ahmad in the Delhi High Court. He had also sent a complaint to President Pranab Mukherjee a few days back, pointing to financial irregularities allegedly committed by the V-C since assuming office in April, 2014.
“I have been restrained from travelling outside Delhi during the period without taking prior permission of the competent authority... I am going to challenge the suspension in court. A few members cannot stop me from exposing the current V-C,” Siddiqui told Express. The professor’s office at the AJK Mass Communication Centre was earlier vandalised by a few staff members who raised slogans demanding his resignation.
In his complaint, Siddiqui had hinted at conflict of interest. “The university secretly signed a contract with Computer Maintenance Corporation Ltd, a subsidiary of TCS. The V-C did not float any tender for this and went forward without the approval of the Academic and Executive Council,” he alleged and further said, “It is common knowledge that the son and daughter-in-law of the V-C are employees of TCS and the V-C has given this contract worth crores of rupees to Computer Maintenance Corporation Ltd.”