IIT-KGP 'tainted' prof details seeked

The human resource development ministry has asked the Indian Institute of Technology, Kharagpur, for an explanation over allegations that a senior professor used the IIT campus and brand to run an institute offering invalid degrees.

The human resource development ministry has asked the Indian Institute of Technology, Kharagpur, for an explanation over allegations that a senior professor used the IIT campus and brand to run an institute offering invalid degrees.

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HT had first reported on October 19 about police investigations against IIT Kharagpur aerospace engineering professor Amit Kumar Ghosh for running the fake institute — called the Institute of Electrical Engineers — as president.

But fresh documents available with HT suggest that Ghosh also had a cover-up route ready — thanks to the post of Chief Vigilance Officer that the IIT bestowed on him.

The CVO is an institution’s chief watchdog against corruption and Ghosh was effectively in charge of stopping crimes like the running of the IEE at the time he was himself allegedly duping innocent students into joining the fake institute.

IIT Kharagpur also allowed Ghosh to jointly hold the CVO post and the post of chairman IIT Joint Entrance Examination when the test was under the scanner from late 2006 over allegations that deserving candidates were denied seats.

This conflict of interest, coupled with the shocking new revelations about Ghosh, have triggered fresh concerns among faculty, parents and independent transparency seekers about the credibility of the IIT’s internal probe into allegations of admission wrongdoing in 2006.

“The charges against Ghosh are so severe that they force one to question the credibility of the probe into the 2006 fiasco,” said a senior professor who has been campaigning for years for greater transparency in the conduct of IIT-JEE.