Grilled by Customs, Kerala minister lands in fresh row over ‘plagiarized’ PhD

Trouble began for Jaleel after phone call records of Swapna Suresh, containing evidence of Jaleel’s conversations with Suresh, were leaked to the media.

After six-hour grilling in connection with the import of holy books and dry dates, the Customs on Monday let Kerala high education minister K T Jaleel go but the central agency said it was yet to give him a clean chit.

A PhD granted to Jaleel 14 years ago by the Kerala University has run into controversy. (ANI Photo)

Earlier he was questioned by the Enforcement Directorate and the National Investigation Agency after his name cropped up in the call list of the main accused in the gold smuggling case, Swapna Suresh.

But the minister landed in another controversy after State Governor Arif Mohammad Khan sought a clarification from the Kerala University about the PhD granted to him 14 years ago.

The Save University Forum, a body working in the higher education sector, has petitioned the Governor citing many flaws and grammatical errors in the thesis submitted by him in 2005. He was awarded doctorate in 2006 by the Kerala University for his research in the 1921 Malabar Moplah uprising.

“The poor literary ability, lack of comprehending capacity and the meagre logical thought process of the said researcher, on many instances, were so revealing,” it said in the complaint to the Governor who is the chancellor of universities in the state.

It said the thesis was nothing but a disordered compendium of quotes from various sources with very little inference made by the researcher. Though quotations and excerpts were used in abundance, he omitted the mandatory citations and failed to acknowledge these sources, said the complaint, which also pointed out glaring grammatical errors in the thesis. An office- bearer of the forum later said even a high school student won’t commit such glaring mistakes.

“The thesis, which contains 622 quotes in 302 paragraphs without the author’s interpretation/findings, breaks all academic limits and leads to plagiarism,” it said while listing out 285 mistakes and irregular usages, demanding cancellation of his doctorate. The forum has also raised serious charges against the then Vice-Chancellor of the university.

Trouble began for Jaleel after phone call records of Swapna Suresh were leaked to the media. The minister’s phone number figured prominently in her call list. Soon after the list came out, the minister said he called Suresh as a consular employee in connection with Ramadan kits offered by the UAE consulate in the state capital.

But the minister’s clarification invited more trouble for him as he was not supposed to accept any funds or freebies without the consent of the ministry of external affairs and experts said it was a clear violation of Foreign Contribution Regulation Act (FCRA). During gold smuggling investigation, the Customs also found that a heavy consignment came on March 4 in 31 bags, weighing more than 4,000 kg and they were taken to Malappuram. The minister later admitted that he took these packets to his constituency but said they were religious books. During investigation the Customs also found that between 2017 and 2018 about 17,000 kg dry dates were imported by the consular office.