JNUTA demands inquiry against VC Jagadesh Kumar for ‘financial wrongdoings’

Jawaharlal Nehru University Teachers Association (JNUTA) has demanded an inquiry against JNU Vice Chancellor Jagadesh Kumar for alleged financial wrongdoings.

Accusing the controversial VC – whose term ended in January this year but was asked to continue till a successor was appointed – for protecting a professor accused of financial wrongdoings worth Rs 88 lakh, JNUTA office-bearers in a press conference held at Press Club of India alleged that Kumar not only systematically destroyed the university but violated the JNU Act also.

“JNUTA demands that an inquiry be instituted on the cover-up of financial wrongdoing by the VC and personally be held responsible under the command structure for dereliction of duties in managing the affairs of the university run on public funds,” said the JNUTA.

Addressing the press conference, Moushumi Basu, secretary, JNUTA alleged that to cover his wrongdoings, Jagadesh Kumar called a meeting of the JNU Executive Committee (EC) on September 30 to cover up the

issue as no action has been taken against the accused professor, decided by the EC.

Instead, the JNU EC was advised to hand over the investigation to the CVC and the police, she said.

“Signs of cover-up are also evident in the fact that even as criminal cases are to be made out against identified JNU employees, there is no process of identifying all the fraudulent vendor companies which have allegedly received payments against forged bills and need to be criminally persecuted,” said the JNUTA.

Following the allegations, the JNU administration suspended a senior professor at the School of Environmental Sciences with immediate effect in the first week of October.

Media reports said that the alleged financial misappropriation was related with some projects on which Professor A L Ramanathan worked. The project undertaken by Ramanathan received huge funding from the Ministry of Earth Science, Department of Science and Technology.