BANGALORE, November 20, 2009: Karnataka Government has ordered a probe by the Karnataka Lokayukta into alleged misuse of funds meant for the SC and ST Welfare Fund by the Bangalore University headed by Vice-Chancellor N Prabhu Dev.

Prof. Prabhu Dev has an altercation with the Higher Education Department by allegedly opposing the newly appointed Registrars from taking office on Tuesday. The Chief Minister’s office reportedly intervened and in fact stopped the appointment of two registrars for a day.

The Vice-Chancellor has left for New Delhi for personal work and was not available for comment on the issue on Thursday. Prof. Dev was earlier headed the famous Jayadeva Institute of Cardiology Hospital in Bangalore.

Higher Education Minister Aravind Limbavali has referred to the Lokayukta a complaint lodged by Dalit organisations against the alleged misuse of scholarship funds allocated by the Social Welfare Department for distribution among SC and ST students. Lokayukta headed by N Santhosh Hegde is likely to commence the probe soon.

It is alleged that Special Officer for SC and ST Cell Dr Ravi Kumar had misused the funds sanctioned for 2008-09. The vice-chancellor assumed office only a few months ago.

Several dalit organisations and students staged a protest in the university campus opposing the ‘caste politics of the VC and stopping the two registrars from assuming the offices on caste grounds.” Dr Prabhu Dev met Chief Minister B S Yeddyurappa and requested him to replace the chosen candidates with his nominees. The Higher Education Minister’s Secretariat worked to expose the vested interest of the vice-chancellor in exposed the leak to the media by the VC’s office of the note addressed to the Principal Secretary, Department of Higher Education Srikant.
The Dalit groups had submitted the complaint to the Government for almost two weeks ago. Mr Limbavali  is reportedly referred the case to the Lokayukta when Bangalore University had faced a crisis over Dr Prabhu Dev’s opposition to allow newly appointed Registrars Prof M G Krishnan and Prof M S Talwar to assume charge.

The Higher Education Minister has been upset with the Vice Chancellor for openly criticising the trifurcation of Bangalore University.

The complaints list the allegedly illegal selection of Bangalore Educational Resources Pvt Limited as a nodal agency to screen prospective study centres for its distance education programme outside Karnataka.

Our Correspondent