Calcutta, Aug. 21: Calcutta University has started an inquiry into the authenticity of the qualifications of a professor in the atmospheric science centre in the wake of the mark sheet scandal involving applied mathematics lecturer Mukti Deb and former Visva-Bharati vice-chancellor Dilip Sinha.

Like Deb, the woman under the scanner was Sinha’s choice.

Officials at Calcutta University said the authorities sent the credentials of the teacher for verification to Ranchi University last Monday. She claims to have done her BSc and MSc courses from the university.

Sinha was arrested this June on the charge of attesting false mark sheets produced by Deb. He had also interviewed her.

The officials claimed the professor was Sinha’s choice for the post of reader in the centre. Her marksheets, too, were attested by him. It was again Sinha’s recommendation that had prompted the authorities to promote her from reader to professor.

Calcutta University vice-chancellor Ashis Banerjee refused to elaborate on the probe. “I cannot say that the teacher concerned is at fault until we get the verification report from Ranchi University. We shall be able to tell about the teacher only when we get feedback from Ranchi University,” he added.

He, however, pointed out that the atmospheric science centre was founded by Sinha and most of the teachers and scholars were recruited on the basis of his recommendations. “This is a routine matter to cross-check the authenticity of the educational qualifications of the teacher concerned to find out whether Sinha had indulged in any malpractice just as he had done in the Mukti Deb case,” he said.

Sinha was the head of the atmospheric science centre before joining Visva-Bharati as its vice-chancellor. He re-joined the centre at Calcutta University in 2000 after completing his tenure in Visva-Bharati. He was the head of the centre till his arrest.

Sources said Ranchi University is expected to send in its report within a fortnight.

They added that the professor has been interrogated by registrar Ujwal Basu and other senior officials. “The needle of suspicion points to the teacher... The contradictory statements made by her during the interrogation prompted us to seek the intervention of Ranchi University,” an official investigating the case said.