The 3-year-old Jai Narayan University Scam stirred up a new controversy in state when Rajasthan Anti Corruption Bureau allegedly arrested five offenders including JNV’s former vice chancellor and a former Congress MLA in this case. The infamous scam that involved recruitment of undeserving candidates at various teaching positions in the university was heavily protested by the rejected applicants. Countless deserving candidates, who were wronged in this case held protests outside the university gates and the collector’s office for several weeks.
This led the university professors blaming the five alleged offenders, including the former VC B.S. Rajpurohit, who was arrested by Rajasthan ACB, following intensive investigations. The other culprits involved in this case were former dean of Law faculty S.S. Sharma, clerk Kesavan Embran, Syndicate member D.S. Khichi and former Congress MLA Jugal Kabra. They were charged with heavily corrupting the recruitment process of 111 assistant and associate professors in the university.
The undeserving candidates who received appointments didn’t pass the standards set by the UGC that is, qualifying the SLET (State Level Eligibility Test) or NET (National Eligibility Test). They were accused of paying high prices for the post. The leaks however, suggested that the selected candidates were relatives and acquaintances that had strong political connections with former Rajasthan government leaders.
Consistent protests incited the Supreme Court to intervene in this case. Having questioned the ACB regarding these arrests, the apex court granted a conditional bail to the former JNV VC. The other offenders were directed to the lower courts for requesting a bail.
The Investigations Conducted by Principal Secretary Rajeev Swarup Revealed Shocking Truths behind this Controversy
While the former VC justified the recruitment process, Principal Secretary Swarup found that recruitments were made with ‘personal interests’ that violated UGC regulations. The process of recruitment was ‘not transparent’ since the university had accepted applications of unworthy candidates that weren’t eligible to apply for the post. Considering the facts put forth during investigation, Chief Secretary C.K. Matthew probed the former VC for an explanation regarding ‘faults in recruitment process’.
With the court letting the alleged corruptors off the hook, the roots of this conspiracy trace back to ex-Rajasthan ministers. The opposition coming to the rescue of alleged offenders has given way to suspicion. There are rumours circulating in the ministry that hint at involvement of many senior leaders from ex-Congress government (including the former chief minister) involved neck-deep in several controversies.
While the opposition brushed it off as a ‘political vendetta’ framed by the ruling BJP, one cannot deny that Jodhpur has always been the breeding ground of atrocious scams and scandals in past.
As the ongoing tussle between the ruling BJP and opposition Congress intensifies with each day, it’s difficult to predict the final outcome of the case. But then, things have turned certainly interesting with many high-profile members coming under the suspicious eye of the government authorities as well as the apex court. Who’s the real culprit, only time can tell!
