Coimbatore: Bharathiar University VC arrested for taking Rs 30 lakh bribe
Coimbatore: Exposing rampant corruption in higher education institutions, the Directorate of Vigilance and Anti-Corruption (DVAC) on Saturday arrested A. Ganapathy, vice-chancellor of Bharathiar University here, while accepting bribe of Rs 30 lakh from an assistant professor for conformation of his job.
The DVAC also booked Dharmaraj, professor of department of chemistry of the same university, for aiding the vice chancellor. Ganapathy has been accused of fixing Rs 30 lakh for confirmation of T. Suresh, the complainant, as assistant professor in the University and accepted Rs 1 lakh as “advance” and collected blank cheque leaves from him, which was returned one by one when money was “paid in installments.”
When Suresh went to hand over one installment in cash to Ganapathy at his residence here as per a plan by DVAC, the vice chancellor was caught red-handed by the sleuths on Saturday morning.
Suresh is working as an assistant professor in the department of chemistry and the vice chancellor demanded payment of the rest of the “fixed amount” in cash to confirm his job.
The arrest of vice-chancellor of a premier university on corruption charges sent shock waves across the academia though there has been murmurs of high graft in institutes of higher education in Tamil Nadu. Educationists and political parties said the arrest of Ganapathy was just the “tip of an iceberg” and demanded CBI probe into appointment of Vice-Chancellors to universities in Tamil Nadu.
Sources in the university told Deccan Chronicle that Ganapathy is notorious for demanding “huge sums of money” for postings and he went ahead with appointment of assistant professors despite charges of irregularities. “This has been going on for a very long time and everyone turned a blind eye. More skeletons will tumble out of the university's cupboard very soon,” they said.
“A Ganapathy, age 67, Vice Chancellor, Bharathiar University, was trapped by DVAC while demanding and receiving bribe of '30 lakhs from the complainant T. Suresh, assistant professor, department of chemistry to complete his probation as assistant professor. Demand amount is paid by Rs 1 lakh in cash and Rs 29 lakh as post dated cheques. Ganapathy reiterated his demand and accepted the bribe amount at his residence,” the DVAC said in an official statement.
“Already a detailed inquiry has been taken up by DVAC against Ganapathy as per the order of the government of Tamil Nadu,” the statement said.
DVAC also conducted elaborate searches in his residence and at his office. Ganapathy has been at the centre of controversy ever since he assumed charge in March 2016.
He first made headlines while he called for applications to fill 82 vacancies in the university and soon students staged protest on the campus alleging irregularities in the recruitment process.
