Ranchi, June 5 :     The state vigilance department arrested Ranchi University vice-chancellor L.C.C.N Shahdeo and retired professor of the university's English department S.D.Singh late last night on charges of irregularities in the appointment of teachers, official sources said here today. They were taken to Patna to be tried by a special vigilance court after being produced before the judicial commissioner. Both Shahdeo and Singh were members of the screening committee set up in 1987-88 to monitor the appointment of teachers to colleges affiliated to Ranchi University. The government had entrusted the vigilance department to probe the anomalies after several cases of bungling and irregularities were slapped on the screening committee. The students' unions along with the teachers' associations today closed the university sine die in protest against the arrest of the vice-chancellor. Terming the arrests as politically-motivated, the student leaders said the university would remain closed until the vice-chancellor was released and all charges against him withdrawn. The arrest was a sequel to an FIR lodged by the vigilance department in Patna in 1995. The FIR said in 1985-86, 22 officials of the screening committee had recommended appointments of 300 teachers to the newly-affiliated colleges of the university in violation of the 'university statutes.' The FIR alleged that 'rules' were flouted to make room for 'favoured' candidates. Those named by the state vigilance department in its FIR include Shahdeo, who was then the dean, students welfare, retired professor S. D. Singh, finance officer M. Prasad, IAS officer N. Bhagat and former vice-chancellor Ram Dayal Munda. The vigilance department has also named 100 more officials of Magadh University, Patna University, Bhagalpur University, Vir Kunwar Singh University, B. N. Mandal University, Sadho- Kanu University, Vinobha Bhave University and Mithila University, who were involved in the irregular appointments. The arrest warrants were issued by the special court of the vigilance department, Patna, on June 1 following which a team of officials arrived here yesterday to execute the warrants. However, another accused Ram Dayal Munda, who is yet to be arrested, said he was in Ranchi at the time of the vice-chancellor's arrest. He denied reports that he had gone underground to evade arrest. Munda said that since the appointments were made 15 years ago, he remembered 'very little about them.' He claimed there was 'nothing irregular in the appointments.'' Munda said none of the candidates, whom the state vigilance department alleged had been 'favoured' by the screening committee, hailed from the Jharkhand region. 'So there was no question of favouring them,' he added. The services of a large number of 'these favoured teachers' were subsequently regularised by the state government.