Process to appoint new BHU vice chancellor going on: HRD ministry

Former vice chancellor Girish Chandra Tripathi had proceeded on leave after indications that the government was upset with him for the manner in which he handled the issue.

The process to appoint a new vice chancellor of the Banaras Hindu University (BHU) has not yet been completed, the HRD ministry said Friday.

Students outside the Banaras Hindu University in Uttar Pradesh. A ruckus started on the campus in September 2017 when some students and two journalists were injured in a police baton-charge after a protest against alleged harassment. (HT File Photo)

Earlier in the day, a source in the BHU had claimed that BA Chopade, the current vice chancellor of the Babasaheb Ambedkar Marathwada University in Aurangabad, has been appointed to the post which was lying vacant since last year.

“The process of appointment of the BHU VC is still underway. The selection panel appointed for the purpose will shortlist the names which will be communicated to the President, who is Visitor to the university,” a spokesperson of the human resource development ministry said.

The post has been lying vacant since October last year when Girish Chandra Tripathi, who was the vice chancellor, went on indefinite leave two months before his tenure was to end following a spate of protests at the university triggered by an incident of alleged eve-teasing.

The BHU is among the 43 central universities in the country and the appointment of its VC has to be cleared by the President.

Girish Chandra Tripathi had proceeded on leave after indications that the central government was upset with him for the manner in which he had handled the incident as well as subsequent protests by women students.

The trouble started when a number of students, including women, and two journalists were injured in a baton-charge by the police after a protest against the alleged eve-teasing incident turned violent.