Principal refutes fraud charges; calls it case of 'settling grudges'

Days after the State Vigilance and Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) booked 10 individuals, including the former and current principals, three associate professor and four vendors for alleged fraud at Government PG College, the principal claimed that 'misleading facts' were presented by the complainant to settle "grudges".

The Principal, Dr Des Raj Bajwa, said the allegations by the complainant, Ramesh Singh, were baseless and an attempt to malign the image of the college as well as the faculty. “The complainant served at the college as an associate professor and was transferred ‘on administrative grounds'. There is a history of complaints against him. The allegations were levelled, after he was transferred, just to settle the grudges as faculty members and the principals named in the complaint had made recommendations against him in their inquiry reports. He was charged and penalised by the government in cases of moral turpitude in the past,” he claimed.

“In 2021, he had levelled allegations of corruption against the then principal and faculty members, but later withdrew the complaint, claiming that the complaint was made in 'confusion',” he stated.

The principal also raised questions over the fact-finding committee and its report and said that no committee member visited the college to verify facts and made recommendations without proper investigation. “The inquiry was done in a biased manner due to vested interests of some people who were not happy with me taking the charge of the principal. The allegations of GST evasion and not following government’s directions in purchases are baseless as all purchases were made as per approvals received from the higher authorities,” he said.

Regarding the allegations of unauthorised construction and safety violations, he said the development works were carried out after due approval of the higher authorities. “We will cooperate with the investigating agency and also challenge the complaint in the high court,” he said.