On October 6, Friday, massive demonstrations were held by faculty members at the state-run BR Ambedkar Bihar University in Muzaffarpur. The situation is the result of an FIR lodged by the police against the varsity's top officials, including the vice-chancellor (VC) and registrar, in connection with alleged financial irregularities in the purchase of stationery.
Demanding immediate withdrawal of the FIR, the faculty members locked the main gate during their demonstration. Following the protest, the varsity cancelled all ongoing exams and suspended academic activities for an indefinite period, as per a report by PTI.
Assistant Superintendent of Police (Town) Awdesh Dikshit said that the FIR has been registered against four officials of the university, and an investigation is underway. The document names VC Shailendra Kumar Chaturvedi, Registrar Sanjay Kumar, Finance Officer Vinod Kumar and Financial Advisor Jai Prakash Sharma, he added. "The FIR has been lodged on the basis of a complaint filed by the Regional Deputy Director of Education (RDDE)," Dikshit informed.
The state's education department, on September 26, had directed the registrar to lodge a police complaint against certain officials for their alleged role in the financial irregularities committed in purchasing stationery items worth several lakhs of rupees. Even after the order, the registrar did not lodge the complaint, following which, the department ordered that the FIR be filed against him as well, according to the police officials.
