SHILLONG, Nov 22: The two-member central probe team constituted by the Ministry of Education to probe into the allegations of irregularities against NEHU Vice Chancellor Prabha Shankar Shukla is likely to arrive on Sunday.
A reliable source from the university on Friday informed that the probe team will hold interactions with the student bodies, NEHUTA, MeTTA-NEHU and NEHUNSA to get their views on the internal report which was submitted by the university to the Ministry.
The team is likely to make spot inspections to assess the infrastructure inside the university campus.
The source further revealed that the committee consisting of former UGC Chairman Prof DP Singh and former Vice Chancellor of Assam University Prof Dilip Chandra Nath will go back to Delhi on Tuesday to prepare its report to be submitted to the Ministry.
Interestingly, eight days has passed since the Ministry constituted the committee on November 14.
The committee will only have only about three days to compile its report after visiting the university campus as their 15-day deadline ends on November 29.
Meanwhile, the NEHUSU and KSU NEHU unit on Friday continued their sit-in outside the premises of the administrative building from 9 am to 5 pm.
NEHU VC in charge, Prof Nirmalendu Saha issued a circular on Friday stating that Vice Chancellor PS Shukla has proceeded on leave effective from November 15 pursuant to the constitution of a two-member committee by the Ministry of Education. Additionally, NEHU Registrar Colonel (retd) Omkar Singh has also proceeded on leave from November 3.
“Consequently, the undersigned being the senior-most professor has assumed the charge as Vice Chancellor as authorised and in terms of the University Act & Statutes and B Rynjah, Joint Registrar, as the Registrar In-charge,” the circular said.
Prof Saha also said that any order or notifications issued by Prof Shukla or Omkar Singh in the capacity of Vice Chancellor or Registrar during their leave period will be treated as unauthorised and null and void.
Meanwhile, the Division Bench of Chief Justice Indra Prasanna Mukerji and Justice Biswadeep Bhattacharjee of the High Court of Meghalaya on Friday observed that it would be fit and proper for the court to wait for the report of the inquiry committee, its recommendations and any “corrective actions” if any that may be recommended by the committee. The court noted with satisfaction that the hunger strike by a section of students of NEHU has been called off after pronouncement of the previous order on November 20.
“We think that at this stage, it would be fit and proper for this court to wait for the report of the committee…We adjourn this matter till December 6 to review the situation,” the order said.
