A letter from the Central Vigilance Commission (CVC) upholding the CBI recommendation for departmental proceedings against three senior faculty members of IIT-Kharagpur has reached the institute, triggering tremors among teachers and students.
Prof P P Chakraborty, one of those implicated, has been cleared to be the next director of IIT-Kgp. Hearing of the CVC's decision, he has already resigned as one of the deans of the institute in protest. The two other accused are Prof A K Bhowmick (who is now director IIT-Patna) and Prof R N Banerjee, who has retired but is on extension at the institute.
Chain mails, whisper campaigns, strategy meetings and a general feeling of uncertainty have taken over the campus ever since media reports surfaced in Delhi on Monday of impending action against the IIT-Kgp teachers. The letter reached IIT-Kgp acting director S Shome on Tuesday, seeking an immediate response. The CVC has also written to the HRD ministry, which is the guardian of IIT-Kgp.
The campus, which has been running without a full time director and assistant director since September, fears that the CVC report might be a setback to Prof Chakraborty's selection as the next director. They apprehend that the HRD ministry may do a rethink on him.
In 2001, Coal India had given a project to the institute to develop a software, called Coalnet. One of the clauses was that the project would not be outsourced. However, CBI and CVC found that the three professors had outsourced the project to a software company owned by an IIT-Kgp alumnus. The director-in-waiting had in a letter of explanation reportedly tried to defend the decision to outsource a part of the project, which landed him in trouble. This is being seen by the central investigating agencies as a major aberration.
Chain mails have reached not only all faculty members and students but also media houses and academicians, seeking solidarity for the director-to-be. A section of the faculty is backing Chakraborty. The institute is debating whether to call an emergency meeting of the board of governors before sending a reply to the CVC's letter. The past two meetings discussed the allegations and quashed them.
"We are really in a state of flux and do not know what to do. Now that the CVC letter has reached us, we are pressed for a reply. We are most concerned about our director-to-be and do not want the appointment to be scuttled because of this controversy. We are continuously holding meetings with key faculty members and board members for some direction," said Shome.
The next scheduled board meeting is on March 23, but IIT-Kgp authorities are wary of waiting that long lest the HRD ministry springs into action seeking penal action.
Source: http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/kolkata/Vigilance-note-shakes-up-IIT-Kharagpur/articleshow/18841596.cms
Prof P P Chakraborty, one of those implicated, has been cleared to be the next director of IIT-Kgp. Hearing of the CVC's decision, he has already resigned as one of the deans of the institute in protest. The two other accused are Prof A K Bhowmick (who is now director IIT-Patna) and Prof R N Banerjee, who has retired but is on extension at the institute.
Chain mails, whisper campaigns, strategy meetings and a general feeling of uncertainty have taken over the campus ever since media reports surfaced in Delhi on Monday of impending action against the IIT-Kgp teachers. The letter reached IIT-Kgp acting director S Shome on Tuesday, seeking an immediate response. The CVC has also written to the HRD ministry, which is the guardian of IIT-Kgp.
The campus, which has been running without a full time director and assistant director since September, fears that the CVC report might be a setback to Prof Chakraborty's selection as the next director. They apprehend that the HRD ministry may do a rethink on him.
In 2001, Coal India had given a project to the institute to develop a software, called Coalnet. One of the clauses was that the project would not be outsourced. However, CBI and CVC found that the three professors had outsourced the project to a software company owned by an IIT-Kgp alumnus. The director-in-waiting had in a letter of explanation reportedly tried to defend the decision to outsource a part of the project, which landed him in trouble. This is being seen by the central investigating agencies as a major aberration.
Chain mails have reached not only all faculty members and students but also media houses and academicians, seeking solidarity for the director-to-be. A section of the faculty is backing Chakraborty. The institute is debating whether to call an emergency meeting of the board of governors before sending a reply to the CVC's letter. The past two meetings discussed the allegations and quashed them.
"We are really in a state of flux and do not know what to do. Now that the CVC letter has reached us, we are pressed for a reply. We are most concerned about our director-to-be and do not want the appointment to be scuttled because of this controversy. We are continuously holding meetings with key faculty members and board members for some direction," said Shome.
The next scheduled board meeting is on March 23, but IIT-Kgp authorities are wary of waiting that long lest the HRD ministry springs into action seeking penal action.
Source: http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/kolkata/Vigilance-note-shakes-up-IIT-Kharagpur/articleshow/18841596.cms
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