CBI arrests former central university VC for alleged recruitment scam

Sagar: Former Vice Chancellor of Hari Singh Gour Kendriya Vishwa Vidyalaya NS Gajbhiye was on Monday arrested by the CBI from Kanpur in connection with the alleged recruitment scam in Madhya Pradesh's only central university.

Gajbhiye was the first Vice Chanellor of the prestigious university which was accorded central status by the then UPA government. A CBI team from Jabalpur headed by Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP) Naresh Indora, DSP DK Singh, Inspector and In-charge officer of the case arrested Gajbhiye, who is presently Professor of the Chemistry Department, Indian Institute of Technology, Kanpur (UP) as well as the main accused in the case, a CBI release said.

He was arrested from IIT Kanpur's Chemistry Department in the presence of Dean of Faculty Affairs, IIT Kanpur. Copy of his arrest memo has been given to his wife Sushma Gajbhiye, and an intimation regarding his arrest has been given to the local jurisdictional Kalyanpur police station of Kanpur and also to the Head of Chemistry Department, IIT Kanpur, it said.

His medical check-up has been done at government hospital Kanpur and is being brought to Jabalpur by train by a CBI team of three officers and three police constables. He will be produced before the CBI Special Court Judge in Jabalpur on Tuesday, the release said.

After registration of new cases, searches were conducted at Gajbhiye's residential premises at IIT Campus, Kanpur on February 20. However, Gajbhiye was not available at that time since he was was reportedly in Mumbai, in connection with the recruitment of teaching faculty of Mumbai University, the release said.

After he was telephonically contacted and requested to co-operate with the CBI urgently, he said that he would come to Kanpur only on February 22, after a Selection Committee Meeting of the University of Mumbai and his medical appointment with a doctor in Mumbai. Thereafter, he switched off his mobile on February 20, the release said.

To ensure Gajbhiye's presence before the CBI, a notice was served by the CBI team to his wife and the Director of IIT Kanpur to intimate him (Gajbhiye) to appear at the CBI office, Jabalpur on February 23 at 10 AM, the release said. The CBI team waited at Kanpur for Gajbhiye's return and accordingly, he was arrested on Monday, the release said.

CBI's Jabalpur office has registered a criminal case on May 21, 2014 against Gajbhiye and others based on allegations that officers of the Sagar University, who worked as public servants, entered into a criminal conspiracy with each other as well as SM Mahendra Simha Karna and Vandana Vinayak.

The conspiracy was to select Karna and Vinayak as Assistant Professors in the Department of Forensic Sciences and Criminology of Sagar University and provide undue favours to them though it was known that that both of them did not possess adequate qualifications for these posts, the release said.