Former DGP to head inquiry committee in Madras varsity

CHENNAI: University of Madras has formed a three-member committee headed by former DGP K. Ramanujam to conduct an inquiry into the missing answer scripts and to find out persons responsible for the biggest theft in the history of the university.

Professor A. David Ambrose, head, Department of Legal Studies, University of Madras and T.P. Radhakrishnan, principal, Madras Sanskrit College are other members of the committee.

The professors were shocked to learn after a preliminary inquiry by the university revealed that the scamsters have lifted over 30,000 answer scripts in trucks to erase the evidence for the exam scam at Institute of Distance Education.

Totally, 116 boxes each containing nearly 300 answer scripts were looted from the centenary auditorium where they have been secured for an inquiry into the exam malpractices.

Though the preliminary inquiry fixed the responsibility for the theft, it did not provide any evidence against the staff members for their involvement in the crime.

As suggested in the report, the university has formed the independent committee to conduct the fair inquiry into the issue besides the police investigation.

“The committee will inquire into the circumstances in which the answer sheets were missing and find persons responsible for the theft. The committee can summon anyone for the inquiry,” said P. Duraisamy, Vice-Chancellor, University of Madras.

 “We have not fixed any time limit. But, I am sure the committee will submit its report at the earliest and based on the report will take action against those involved in the theft,” he added. 

The available evidences are pointing towards a coordinated and well-orchestrated plot to lift the answer scripts with the help of insiders.

The lack of CCTV cameras in the centenary auditorium which is visited by VVIPs and stand operating procedures to track the movements of vehicles also came to the light following the theft.

One of the three members of the committee T.P. Radhakrishnan was also the member of the disciplinary committee which enquired into the exam scam at IDE.

Based on the committee's report the university has debarred about 800 candidates for their involvement in the exam malpractices at distance education.

Sources said it was difficult to fix the responsibility as there was no practice of keeping the evaluated answer scripts safe in the university. “Usually, the answer scripts before evaluation were kept in the sealed room. But, no such strict safety measures were followed for corrected answer sheets. The scamsters have exploited this procedural lapse and looted the answer sheets,” a source said explaining the delay in taking action against the staff members.