Services of NIPER Director terminated

Mohali, December 4

The services of Dr Raghuram Rao Akkinepally, Director of the National Institute of Pharmaceutical Education and Research (NIPER), Mohali, have been terminated with immediate effect by the government for alleged fraudulent action on his part. He has been given 14 days time to appeal against the order in the appropriate forum.

‘After having obtained the opinion of the Department of Personnel and Training and the Ministry of Law and Justice, the recommendations of the Board of Governors (BoG) were placed before the President of India in his capacity as visitor of the institute through the Minister of Chemicals and Fertilisers, who accepted the recommendations of the BoG and accorded approval for implementation of the board,” a letter issued by the Ministry of Chemicals and Fertilisers on December 3 stated. In the BoG meeting held in August this year, it was concluded that Dr Rao had hidden the fact that there was an FIR registered against him in his parent institution, Kakatiya University, Telangana, when he had applied for the post of Director, NIPER.

He had earlier been served a show-cause notice and had also been placed under suspension, following which he had moved the Punjab and Haryana High Court. Rao joined the institute in May 2017. — TNS