Govt seeks ex-VC's response

BHUBANESWAR: The state government has sought former Orissa University of Agriculture and Technology (OUAT) vice-chancellor D P Ray's response to allegations of corruption during his stint at the university.
Additional secretary, agriculture, Srikanta Sahu on January 11 wrote to Ray asking him to submit a point-wise reply to the allegations of misappropriation of state and central funds, illegal appointments and manipulation of records at the OUAT.A copy of the letter is with TOI.
The agriculture department's missive came after director (vigilance) had written to the government about the allegations on December 1 on the basis of a complaint filed by Jagatsinghpur MP Bibhu Prasad Tarai.
Tarai alleged that Ray had shown contradictory service experience, misappropriated funds and made 300 illegal appointments by tampering finance department guidelines.
As per Tarai's complaint, Ray's service records show he worked as horticulturist in Calcutta University till 1981 and also served under Odisha government in the same period. Tarai said the Odisha government had considered his service under the Odisha government for pension benefits and his experience during the same period in Calcutta University to appoint him as horticulturist in the OUAT.
Tarai also alleged that Ray had surrendered posts of scientists at the varsity for creation of non-teaching posts, which adversely affected agricultural research at the premier institute.