Punjab: Varsity officials suspension followed by fight

Bathinda: Assistant Registrar, Baba Farid University of Health Sciences (BFUHS),Surinder Kapoor's suspension on charges of providing information to outsiders has stirred the hornet's nest.

Officials at the university took action, against Mr. Kapoor, accusing him of illegally revealing and sharing information related to university purchases and institutional appointments.

University Vice Chancellor,Raj Bahadur, charged Mr. Kapoor for constantly having provided information to a former official and helping him in other ways against the university interests. He further alleged that charges of corrupt practices too were allegedly levelled against Kapoor, a while ago, however, he had continued with his malpractices and did not change his ways.

Surinder Kapoor, meanwhile, defending himself said, "I have been suspended without any basis, on the wild accusations of providing information to outsiders.The authorities have not made it clear as to whom I have provided information on my own. Whatever information has been provided to anyone what was demanded through RTI."

500 BFUHS employees who have also been on a strike for the past few days demanding regular services have also been leveling charges of irregularities. They have also been leveling charges against the university.Being with the RTI ,Dr. Manjit Singh Jaura had replied to nearly a 100 queries through the RTI. Similarly, the now suspended Surinder Kapoor had provided information under the RTI to several applicants.

Dr. Jaura, who worked with Guru Gobind Singh Medical College, affiliated to the university,for 5 years said, "I have raised the issue of purchases of defibrillators, operation theatre lights, operation theatre monitors for advanced cancer diagnostic centre at Bathinda, Guru Gobind Singh Medical College at Faridkot and civil hospitals at Lambi and Jalalabad at inflationary rates without tendering process."

"The university has no answer to my allegations and has made the assistant registrar as scapegoat on the charges of providing me the information," Dr Jaura told TOI.

BFUHS Vice-chancellor Raj Bahadur according to university sources has replied to all the allegations to the Chief Minister, terming the purchase allegations without the tendering process as vague.