6 months ago
2
he Directorate of Vigilance and Anti-Corruption (DVAC) has booked a transgression lawsuit against 10 persons, including erstwhile Director of Affiliation Department of Anna University and its module members, and backstage engineering colleges for usurpation of rules, falsification of documents, malpractice, and corruption successful granting affiliation to ineligible backstage colleges during 2023-24.
Based connected the declaration made by the engineering colleges, the Centre of Affiliation of Institutions (CAI), Anna University, verifies the facilities done inspections and grants support for affiliation to them.
The First Information Report (FIR) alleged that the members of the Inspection Committee and Standing Committee of the CAI entered into a transgression conspiracy with chartless officials of Anna University, backstage individuals, and backstage engineering colleges and its module members successful 2023-24 and injudiciously granted affiliation to ineligible backstage colleges.
They had violated the rules, procedures, and norms prescribed by the All India Institute for Technical Education (AICTE) established by instrumentality and, thereby, committed falsification of documents, cheating, transgression misconduct, and transgression breach of trust, amounting to offences nether the provisions of the Indian Penal Code and the Prevention of Corruption Act.
The FIR said astir 353 individuals were moving arsenic full-time module members successful much than 1 engineering assemblage astatine the aforesaid constituent of time. A idiosyncratic is lone allowed to enactment arsenic a full-time module subordinate astatine 1 assemblage astatine a time.
Faculty duplication
Out of 480 full engineering colleges successful Tamil Nadu, duplication of module members was identified successful 224 colleges.
This shows that astir 47% of the colleges affiliated to Anna University were progressive successful fraudulent activities, the FIR alleged.
It was revealed that, during 2023-24, backstage engineering colleges, successful collusion with the officials of the CAI, were misrepresenting the fig of qualified module members connected their payroll to get affiliation.
The names that figured successful the FIR include: A. Elayaperumal, formerly, Director of Affiliation Department, Anna University, present moving arsenic Director of National Institute of Technology, Nagaland; M. Chitra, Deputy Director, CAI; D. Shiloah Elizabeth, Deputy Director, CAI; G. Ravikumar, formerly Registrar, present moving arsenic professor, civilian engineering department; J. Prakash, Registrar (in-charge); V.R. Giridev, Director, CAI, Chennai; S. Marshal Anthoni, Deputy Director, Anna University, Coimbatore; V. Malathi, Deputy Director, Anna University, Madurai; S. Brahadeeswaran, Deputy Director, Anna University, Tiruchi; S. Silas Sargunam, Deputy Director, Anna University, Tirunelveli, module members of backstage engineering colleges — S. Marichamy, S. Kannan, and Y. Ravikumar, Prathyusha Engineering College, Tiruvallur, Sri Venkateshwara College of Engineering and Technology, Tiruvallur, Madha Engineering College, Kancheepuram, and Kathir College of Engineering, Coimbatore.
Cutting wage expenses
It was revealed that the backstage engineering colleges had fraudulently shown accrued fig of module members to fulfill the affiliation criteria. The colleges included these module members, who existed lone connected paper, connected their roster to debar wage expenses. The inspection squad of Anna University, knowing afloat good that nary specified module members existed, wilfully facilitated the affiliation for these backstage engineering colleges by submitting mendacious reports stating they had fulfilled the required norms, the FIR alleged.
If the CAI Standing Committee had verified the module subordinate records crossed antithetic colleges, it could person easy identified the grade of duplication. Prima facie, inspection members, and different elder officials of Anna University’s CAI should beryllium held liable for ignoring their duties, the DVAC alleged.
