Registrar appointment kept in 'abeyance'

Statesman News Service

MALDA, 17 JAN: The appointment of the new registrar of Gour Banga University in Malda has been ‘kept in abeyance’.

The council members of the university held a meeting on 15 January and took the decision following charges of plagiarism against the newly appointed registrar.

Dr.Bikash Mukherjee, a senior information scientist in Burdwan University, was appointed as Gour Banga University.

Though the appointment letter was issued to join the university from 18 January, on 15 January, the authorities faxed a message to Dr Mukherjee saying that he would not be allowed to join the post until fresh orders were given to him.

The present registrar of the Gour Banga University, Dr Tapas Chatterjee, said: “It was me who had conveyed the message to Dr Mukherjee following the decision of the council. His appointment has been kept in abeyance for the time being”.

It was reported that Dr Mukherjee had allegedly copied an article from a foreign journal which was published in his name but there was no credit line acknowledging the foreign writer’s name.

Following a complaint lodged by the foreign writer Burdwan University authorities had stopped his two increments.

According to one of the council members, the university authorities have asked the Burdwan University about the ‘plagiarism’ incident. After they receive the report from the Burdwan University, the council members will take the final decision.

The Gour Banga University sources said: “His appointment letter is likely to be cancelled”.

“A group of rivals in Malda, who applied for the post of the registrar in Gour Banga University, have raised the issue of plagiarism. I was selected by the interview board on the basis of my resume”, said Dr Bikash Mukherjee, over phone.

“I committed a mistake by not acknowledging the name of the foreign writer but later I corrected it. It’s true that the Burdwan University had stopped my two increments after the incident but I got promoted later”, he claimed.