Guv relieves Agra varsity VC of duty, orders investigation

Lucknow: Governor Anandiben Patel on Monday ordered a probe into allegations of financial and administrative irregularities against the vice-chancellor of Dr Bhimrao Ambedkar University, Agra.

Governor has constituted a three-member probe committee headed by retired Allahabad high court judge Ranjana Pandey, while the VC Prof Ashok Kumar Mittal has been relieved of his duties with immediate effect till the completion of the inquiry.

Lucknow University vice-chancellor Prof AK Rai has been given the additional charge of Dr Bhimrao Ambedkar University.

The other members of the probe committee are Prof VK Pathak, vice-chancellor of Chhatrapati Shahu Ji Maharaj University, Kanpur, and Prof Surendra Dubey, VC of Sidharth University, Kapilvastu. The committee will submit its report within a month. In a communique, MK Gupta, additional chief secretary to the governor, stated that Prof Mittal has been accused of indiscipline, financial and administrative anomalies. During the review meetings by the governor from May 31 to June 2, Prof Mittal was found unprepared on the reference points raised by the Chancellor. The replies given by him during the review meetings were found unsatisfactory, Gupta said.

The probe will be done into the appointments done by bypassing the rules, ignoring objections raised in the audit, inadequate action on cases pending in the high court, failure to provide degrees to students’ on time, and giving unnecessary overtime honorarium to employees. All of these are indicative of VC’s lax and indifferent behaviour as the head of an institution, the note from Raj Bhawan stated.