New Delhi, Jan. 18: Banaras Hindu University has picked an academic accused by the Uttar Pradesh government in a 2007 state medical examination scam as director of its engineering wing, which is set to become India’s newest IIT.
The BHU executive council has chosen K.P. Singh, sacked as vice-chancellor of Veer Bahadur Singh Purvanchal University in 2007, to head the Institute of Technology BHU, triggering allegations of impropriety stoked by caste affiliations.
K.P. Singh, picked in late December, will take over when current IT-BHU director S.N. Upadhyay’s term ends on January 31, varsity officials confirmed. “I do not wish to comment at this stage except to say that the charges levelled against me are baseless. I will speak when I take over,” K.P. Singh said when contacted.
Many faculty members and students accuse the university administration of picking K.P. Singh on caste considerations, ignoring seniority and tarnishing IT-BHU’s reputation.
The Centre has promised that IT-BHU will be India’s next IIT and the upgrade could happen this year. The taint associated with Singh could hurt the institute and its reputation during this crucial transition phase, the critics say.
BHU vice-chancellor D.P. Singh insisted that all norms had been followed in the selection. He told The Telegraph: “The executive council has picked K.P. Singh on my recommendation because he presents us with the best balance between seniority and time left before retirement. I don’t pick people on the basis of their caste.”
A 62-year-old electrical engineer, K.P. Singh was sacked as vice-chancellor of the Uttar Pradesh government’s VBS Purvanchal University in 2007 after a scam broke out over that year’s state pre-medical exam, conducted under him.
A nine-member inquiry team had held him guilty of large-scale bungling that led to thousands of deserving candidates initially being denied selection because of marking and assessment errors. A few of the affected students committed suicide.
After K.P. Singh was sacked, the Mayavati government lodged an FIR against him.
BHU vice-chancellor D.P. Singh claimed that Allahabad High Court had dismissed the FIR. “As far as I know, as of today, there is nothing against him,” he said.
But a senior state official said the claim was “blatantly false”. The official said the court had “merely stayed disciplinary proceedings against him for the duration of the case, which it is hearing”.
The state government is still pursing the case and is convinced of K.P. Singh’s guilt, the official added.
Traditionally, BHU picks the senior-most available faculty member to head its institutes. Critics of K.P. Singh’s selection say civil engineer and dean Virendra Singh, senior-most after outgoing IT-BHU director Upadhyay, was ignored.
D.P. Singh said Virendra was ignored because he had only a few months left before retirement. He added that Upadhyay’s request for an extension was not approved because university statutes do not allow a second term. The critics disputed this.
K.P. Singh and D.P. Singh are both Thakurs, as are six of the 10 BHU executive council members, the critics said. Upadhyay, who has a year before retirement, is a Brahmin.
