Kakatiya University VC under scanner for graft

Hyderabad: The State Government has cracked the whip against Kakatiya University Vice-Chancellor Professor T Ramesh for allegedly indulging in corrupt practices and irregularities in the utilisation of funds, recruitment of staff and awarding PhDs to the research scholars. State Principal Secretary to Education department B Venkatesham ordered the Director-General Vigilance and Enforcement wing to constitute a team and investigate into the allegation against Professor Ramesh and furnish a report to the government immediately.

The Secretary said that certain faculty members of Kakatiya University raised allegations against the Vice-Chancellor regarding unlawful retention of terminated faculty, illegal transfers, unfair academic appointments and approval of fake projects submitted by the students praising research in some subjects.

Top sources said that the Vice-Chancellor was discharging his duties at the behest of the BRS leaders and gave undue favours to some sections in the recruitment and awarding the PhD degrees. It is alleged that BRS senior leader and MLA Palla Rajeshwar Reddy had influenced the Vice-Chancellor in the discharge of the duties during his heydays as MLC of the Nalgonda, Warangal and Khammam Graduate MLC constituency.

The vigilance probe against the Vice-Chancellor ahead of the biennial elections to the MLC post this month assumed political significance. As an opposition party leader in the BRS regime, Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy triggered a controversy by levelling allegations against the Kakatiya Vice-Chancellor. He had also received numerous representations from the student unions and faculty members against Ramesh for his alleged role in the misappropriation of the funds and also the encroachment of the university lands by some influential BRS leaders in the Warangal district. Revanth Reddy had then promised to order a probe against the Vice-Chancellor.