E-Paper
FIR against Retired V-C
Ghanti said she was appointed as vice chancellor in September 2016 and was not involved in any misappropriation of funds or corruption
Belagavi: The registrar of Hampi Kannada University in Vijaynagar district has filed a complaint against retired vice chancellor Mallika Ghanti, accusing her of corruption, police said on Wednesday.
The complaint filed by registrar Subbanna Rai alleges that Ghanti caused a financial loss of ₹13.56 lakh to the university by misappropriating funds intended for developmental works in 2015. The financial audit report revealed the misuse of funds sanctioned for 2015-16 and 2016-17 when Ghanti served as the vice chancellor. She is also accused of violating the Karnataka Transparency in Public Procurement (KTPP) Act.
“Mallika, the then V-C of the university, was found to have misappropriated the funds, leading the university to file an FIR,” the registrar said.
The Kamalapur police inspector confirmed that based on the complaint, an FIR has been registered under IPC sections 409 (breach of trust) and 420 (cheating), along with a case under KTPP section 23 against Ghanti.
Ghanti, who retired as VC in 2019 denied the charges, calling them as “false, baseless, aimed at defaming her image.”
Ghanti said she was appointed as vice chancellor in September 2016 and was not involved in any misappropriation of funds or corruption. “The university followed government instructions and assigned construction projects to the Karnataka Rural Development Corporation Ltd (KRDCL) and purchased accessories from the government-run agency for the year 2016-17,” she said.
Regarding the alleged financial loss of ₹13.56 lakh, she clarified that the total cost of the project was ₹1.63 crore, and the university paid an 8% service charge to KRDCL on September 9, 2015, as per the government’s order.
