Patna, June 5: A former pro-vice-chancellor and a principal of a college under Magadh University were arrested today in connection with a case related to illegal appointment of principals in 2012-2013.

Vigilance sleuths conducted raids in Patna and Gaya on Friday morning and arrested former pro-vice-chancellor Arun Kumar and the principal of Bakhtiyarpur-based Ram Lakhan Singh Yadav College, Praveen Kumar.

The two were among the 25 university functionaries named in an FIR lodged with the vigilance police station in Patna on May 19. The then registrar of the university, D.K. Yadav, and the other accused have reportedly gone into hiding after the arrest of the two.

The vigilance investigation bureau started a probe into illegal appointments of principals on the instruction of Patna High Court. The bureau submitted its preliminary report to the court, headed by Justice V.K. Paripathy, in a sealed envelope in May, paving the way for the arrests.

Sources from the vigilance bureau said initial investigations carried out by the bureau hinted at irregularities in the appointments. The report revealed that the accused, including six members of the selection committee, favoured their acquaintances even when there were no vacancies.

"The appointments were made in violation of University Act. There was non-compliance of the university roster and alleged tamperingwith the merit list," a source said.

The anomalies in the appointments came to the fore after three principals were kept in wait for postings, while the 12 were asked to assume charge within 60 days of the notification issued by the university. While the notification was issued on January 16, 2013, the respective principals received their joining letters in March, almost three months later.