Santiniketan, April 13: Following the “insider” trail in the Nobel medal heist, the CBI and the CID have stumbled on a series of “mysterious” incidents on the Visva-Bharati campus.

The sleuths believe that the incidents were programmed to occur after the university administration began a probe into the affiliation scam in July 2001.

The CBI and the CID are probing the incidents to find if the same people were also responsible for the museum break-in and theft of Tagore memorabilia.

Between July 1997 and May 2001, more than 40 fake institutions were provided Visva-Bharati affiliation, allegedly with the connivance of senior university officials. President A.P.J. Abdul Kalam had ordered the probe into the affiliation scam.

Retired judge Moloy Sengupta, who conducted the inquiry, has apparently indicted at least five “senior” officials. The report will be tabled before the executive council on April 19.

“The inquiry commission has found clear violations of varsity rules and regulations while giving affiliations,” said a senior Visva-Bharati official.

The CID has identified at least five senior university officials with possible links with the culprits. The sleuths pointed out several incidents since 2001 apparently planned to derail the probe into the affiliation scam:

• A sudden students’ agitation demanding a masters’ course in Japanese in November 2001. Investigations revealed that some employees instigated them

• A mystery fire on December 26 the same year at 4.45 am near Upasana Griha at Dakshinayan. A routine inquiry revealed that short-circuit, as reported by some employees, did not lead to the fire. The police probe report did not see the light of day

• On January 13 this year, sandalwood trees stolen from Malancha, adjacent to Uttarayan

• On March 23, Rabindranth Tagore’s Nobel medal and 50 other pieces of memorabilia stolen from Rabindra Bhavan

• Days before the affiliation scam report is to be tabled, the lock at the Uddyan Vibhag entrance is broken. A gardener and a peon are arrested and five names of officials crop up during questioning.