CHENNAI: Former vice chancellor of Bharathiar University A Ganapathy has been booked yet again by Directorate of Vigilance and Anti-Corruption (DVAC) for alleged irregularities in appointment of faculty members. Six faculty members, who allegedly helped him, were also booked.
The case pertains to recruitment of professor, associate professor and assistant professor between June - November 2016. According to the FIR, filed on August 4, Ganapathy violated UGC norms in connivance with scrutiny committee members and allowed ineligible candidates to appear for interview after demanding Rs 15 - Rs 60 lakh from them.
During interview, maximum marks were awarded to the bribe givers and they were appointed. “These candidates had not even guided/guiding doctoral candidates and did not have a minimum Academic Performance Indicator as stipulated in the UGC norms,” the FIR stated.
When the issue surfaced, the State government restrained Ganapathy from conducting the Syndicate meeting, scheduled on 19 November 2016, to approve the selection list. Also, he was instructed not to conduct further syndicate meeting without the approval of the government. Ganapathy ignored the directive and conducted the Syndicate meeting on November 22, 2016 “with the only intention to give appointment to the bribe givers and approved the improper selection list” the FIR said adding that appointment orders were issued to the ineligible candidates on the same day. A majority of the candidates joined duty on the same day.
Responding to the development, Ganapathy said, “DVAC has not conducted any inquiry with me. The government did not send any letter asking me not to conduct the (2016) Syndicate meeting. When I approached the information commission, it directed the government to give me the information regarding its letter. I did not get a proper reply from the government.”
The current Vice Chancellor P Kaliraj said the Syndicate would decide the future course of action after consulting legal experts. Faculty members N Dharmaraj, professor of Chemistry, S Girija, associate professor of Biotechnology, R Mathivanan, Director of Human Resource Development Centre, P Anbalagan, associate professor of Physical Education, V Ramasubramanian, associate professor of Zoology and Gnanasekaran, professor of Tamil have been booked for helping Ganapathy.
Ganapathy was arrested by DVAC in February 2018 while accepting bribe from an assistant professor to confirm his job. Dharmaraj was placed under suspension for his role in the case. While Gnanasekaran has retired, the others are in service.