Chennai, March 12 (IANS) The Directorate of Vigilance and Anti-Corruption (DVAC) has registered a case against former Bharathiar University Vice-Chancellor A. Ganapathy (73) and others for alleged irregularities in the purchase of desktop computers.
A. Ganapathy has been named the second accused in the case, while the former finance officer of the university, P. Velusamy (61), has been identified as the prime accused.
The case has been registered under Sections 120(B), 167, and 420 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC), along with Sections 13(2) read with 13(1)(d) of the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988. The case pertains to the procurement of 61 desktop computers during the financial year 2016–17, which allegedly resulted in a wrongful loss of Rs 8,01,581 to the university.
The investigation revealed that the purchase committee, which included some of the accused, approved the procurement from private vendors at inflated prices, violating Financial and Accounts Rules. University procurement norms mandate that materials be sourced without quotations from government-controlled institutions, prison department units, industrial cooperative societies, or other approved entities.
However, the purchase committee allegedly bypassed these regulations and procured the equipment from private vendors. The university purchased 41 HP desktop computers, one server, one 10 KVA online UPS, and one 1 KVA online UPS with inbuilt batteries and networking accessories from M/s I Care, despite the firm being the highest bidder in 2016 for the Linguistics Department’s phonetic lab establishment.
Investigations indicate that each HP desktop was purchased at a price of Rs 11,463 higher than the rate offered by ELCOT (Electronics Corporation of Tamil Nadu), causing a financial loss of Rs 5,71,241. Similarly, in 2017, the Department of Statistics acquired 20 desktop computers for Rs 9 lakh, funded by the Department of Science and Technology. However, the department sourced the computers from M/s Micro System for Rs 8.7 lakh, with each unit costing Rs 11,517 higher than ELCOT’s price, leading to a Rs 2,30,340 loss. In total, the loss from these purchases was estimated at Rs 8,01,581.
Accused Individuals apart from A. Ganapathy and P. Velusamy, 15 others have been named in the case, including university officials and private vendors. The DVAC has filed cases against the accused under the relevant provisions of the IPC and the Prevention of Corruption Act, citing collusion, financial mismanagement, and causing financial loss to the university.
–IANS
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