Education
Two Former Vice-chancellors of Major Universities Charged with Corruption
Former Vice-chancellors Bribe: Tamil Nadu’s anti-corruption bureau, the Directorate of Vigilance and Anti-Corruption (DVAC) has registered cases against two former vice-chancellors of two major universities in the state.
In a statement issued in Chennai, the DVAC said it has filed corruption cases against former Anna University vice-chancellor Rajaram and six others for allegations of corruption relating to the recruitment of professors in Anna University during his tenure as vice-chancellor.
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Both were appointed for three-year terms during J Jayalalithaa’s term as CM. Vanangamudi was the vice-chancellor of Tamil Nadu Dr. Ambedkar Law University (TNDALU) from December 2013 to 2016 while Rajaram was the VC of Anna University from May 2013 to 2016.
The DVAC conducted searches at seven places including Chennai and Theni and 65 documents revealing properties worth about Rs 20 crore were seized.
Another case is also filed against Vanangamudi, former Vice-Chancellor, Tamil Nadu Dr. Ambedkar Law University (TNDALU) and five others. According to DVAC, it is alleged that during his tenure as VC, Vanangamudi entered into a conspiracy with other accused and violated the admission procedure for seats under 15% NRI quota in TNDALU.
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The DVAC organized search at six locations and 74 documents pertaining to properties worth about Rs 95 lakh were seized. Both the cases are under investigation, the DVAC officials said.
In February, A Ganapathy, the vice-chancellor of Bharathiyar University, Coimbatore, was arrested by the DVAC while demanding and receiving a bribe of Rs 30 lakh. According to DVAC, the VC was caught redhanded while receiving the bribe.
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Ganapathy was asked to pay the bribe to become a permanent employee of the university as he had completed his probation period of one year. His colleague, Dharmaraj, a Professor of Chemistry was also arrested later for helping Ganapathi receive the bribe. The arrests were made by the officials of the Directorate of Vigilance and Anti-Corruption (DVAC), Coimbatore.
The DVAC said Ganapathy received Rs 100,000 in cash and Rs 29 lakh in post-dated cheques. Ganapathy accepted the bribe amount at his residence in Coimbatore.
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