Bhubaneswar IIT director under scam scanner

The director of the Indian Institute of Technology Bhubaneswar is drawing on medical facilities from both his IIT and from IIT Kharagpur where he was deputy director till 2009, drawing allegations of misusing public resources.

The director of the Indian Institute of Technology Bhubaneswar is drawing on medical facilities from both his IIT and from IIT Kharagpur where he was deputy director till 2009, drawing allegations of misusing public resources.

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IIT Bhubaneswar director Madhusudhan Chakraborty is arguing that he has not violated any norms, but top government officials told HT his claims were incorrect.

A senior professor at the Netaji Subhash Institute of Technology (NSIT) in Delhi has complained to B Muthuraman, the chairman, board of governors of IIT Kharagpur against Chakraborty for using IIT Kharagpur resources while heading IIT Bhubaneswar.

Documents sent with the complaint to Muthuraman show Chakraborty seeking specific medicines from IIT Kharagpur in his capacity as Director, IIT Bhubaneswar.

Chakraborty said he was drawing on medicines and consultation from IIT Kharagpur since “they know my medical history and are the best judge for medication administration.”

The IIT director argued that he also needed to use medicines facilities at IIT Bhubaneswar in emergencies when consultants were unavailable at IIT Kharagpur. Chakraborty claimed he was entitled to use medical facilities from both institutes. But top officials at the HRD ministry questioned his claim, dismissing his argument that an official can draw benefits from two institutions.