Panaji, March 23 (IANS) Based on a complaint from Goa University, Agassaim police on Saturday lodged an FIR against Assistant Professor of Physics, Pranav Naik, who is accused of leaking a question paper to one of the girl students at the university.
According to a statement issued by the university, police have been asked to inquire into “unauthorised unlawful activities carried out by him (Naik)”.
In the FIR, Naik has been charged under various Sections dealing with forgery with the intent to cheating, trespass, house-breaking and cheating — based on the complaint filed by S.N. Dhuri, Registrar of Goa University.
In his police complaint, Professor Dhuri alleged that Naik made duplicate keys of the cabins of multiple faculty members without their consent and unlawfully entered the cabins without permission, breaching their privacy and security and also helping one girl student in the exams and thereby cheating other students.
Earlier in the day, a statement issued by the university said: “The university had constituted a fact-finding committee to submit a prima facie report on the alleged matter.”
“And based on the report submitted by the committee, the University has lodged a complaint before the Police Inspector, Agassaim police station, to register an FIR against Pranav Naik to investigate further on the unauthorised unlawful activities carried out by him,” the university said.
The statement also clarified that the university’s Executive Council would decide on taking appropriate disciplinary action against the teacher at its meeting in the last week of March.
On Thursday, the government had stepped in to take over the inquiry into the alleged paper leak.
Earlier on Friday, an offence under sections 336(3), 329(4), 331(3), 318(4) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) were registered on complaint of Professor Dhuri at Agassaim police station against the accused Pranav Naik for trespassing and cheating at Goa University Physics Faculty block.
The statement also said that it has been decided to place the matter before the Disciplinary Authority, that is, the Executive Council.
A meeting of the Executive Council is scheduled in the last week of March for appropriate disciplinary action against Naik.
Naik, an assistant professor of physics working in the school of physical and applied sciences, Goa University, was suspended earlier this week.
Meanwhile, a group of activists, led by Kashinath Shetye and others, has approached the sessions court seeking direction to be issued to the Agassaim police to register an FIR in the matter. The case is likely to come up for hearing on Monday. The activists had filed a complaint before the police last week.
The Goa government had constituted a high-level inquiry committee to conduct a probe into the alleged matter of paper leakage by the faculty member and to look into other serious allegations appearing in the media.
The committee comprises Justice (retired) R M S Khandeparkar, former High Court judge, as its chairman and former DIG Bosco George and former registrar of Goa University Dr Radhika Nayak as the members. Professor M R K Prasad from Salgaocar Law College is the Member Secretary. The committee has been asked to submit its report at the earliest.
–IANS
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