Bharathiar University Vice Chancellor A Ganapathi on Saturday, 3 February, was arrested for allegedly accepting a bribe of Rs 30 lakh from an aspirant for the post of assistant professor, the police said.
Ganapathi allegedly demanded a huge sum for the post and finally agreed to take Rs 30 lakh from complainant Suresh, they said. Ganapathi’s wife Swarnalatha too was arrested for tampering with evidence and throwing the currency in the garbage.
Acting on the complaint, officials of the Directorate of Vigilance and Anti-Corruption (DVAC) laid a trap and gave the man chemically treated notes to be handed over to the vice chancellor, the police said.
Mr Ganapathy had demanded ₹35 lakh as bribe for the appointment. He accepted ₹1 lakh from the candidate today as token amount.An official to The Hindu
Ganapathy was arrested by the DVAC officials at his residence after he accepted Rs 1 lakh in cash and Rs 29 lakh by cheque from Suresh. A large number of police and revenue personnel were deployed during the operation, they added.
According to The Hindu, his residence is likely to be raided and his bank accounts would also be scrutinised.
This isn’t the first time Ganapathy has found himself in controversy.
According to The News Minute, in 2016, when Srilakshmi, a Dalit woman, had applied for the post of assistant professor in the biotechnology department of the Bharathiar University, the post reserved for women was given to a man, following which she dragged Ganapathy to court.
In November 2017, Srilakshmi had been blocked from pursuing a postdoctoral fellowship, allegedly because Ganapathy wanted to take revenge. She had filed an FIR against him under provisions of the SC/ST Act.
The University had responded to the case, claiming Srilakshmi was an unsuccessful candidate for the post, and the case was dismissed as withdrawn on 27 March 2017.
The varsity was established by the Tamil Nadu government in February 1982.
(With inputs from PTI, The Hindu and The News Minute)
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