Vet varsity prof suspended after arrest

After the Batala police arrested a senior scientist-cum-professor of Guru Angad Dev Veterinary and Animal Sciences University (GADVASU), Ludhiana, for allegedly circulating a defamatory e-mail against the wife of a senior Punjab Police officer and professor from Punjab Agricultural University (PAU), the university placed the professor under suspension.

GADVASU Registrar Dr S K Sharma, when contacted, confirmed that the accused, Dr Navdeep Singh, professor and former head of the Department of Veterinary Surgery and Radiology at GADVASU, was placed under suspension. “If any employee remains in police custody for 48 hours or more for committing any crime, then as per the rules, the employee has to face suspension,” added Dr Sharma.

Sources said Dr Navdeep faced police action for sending “defamatory bulk e-mail” about the woman and her alleged links with the PAU professor from a “fake ID” to the entire PAU faculty, including the Vice-Chancellor. Dr Navdeep’s IP address was traced by the police which landed him in trouble.

It is learnt that the PAU employee, who was defamed by the accused professor, was a professor and department head at the agricultural university. Meanwhile, the police officer’s wife was involved in a project within his department.