Team Goemkarponn
PANAJI: A four-member, high-level committee has been appointed by the government to take over the investigation into the purported paper leak controversy that has shook Goa University.
Justice RMS Khandeparkar of the Retd High Court is in charge of the committee. The committee also includes Dr. Radhika Nayak, a former registrar of Goa University, and Bosco George, IPS (Retd), a former DIG of the Government of Goa.
The Member Secretary will be MRK Prasad, a professor at V M Salgaocar Law College. The committee has been requested to deliver its report as soon as possible.
Last Sunday, a group of activists led by Kashinath Shetye filed a complaint with the Agassaim Police Station alleging that an assistant professor of physics had given a question paper to a female student. This sparked protests and resulted in the teacher being suspended.
A two-member fact-finding team was then established by the institution, and on Wednesday it delivered its findings to Vice-Chancellor Harilal B. Menon and Governor and Chancellor P S Sreedharan Pillai.
The committee was instructed to turn in the report within 48 hours of its formation on Monday.
Asserting that no complaint had been filed regarding any paper leak, the university has refuted any accusations of misconduct.
When the teacher was accused of breaking into a colleague’s cabin to obtain chemicals for research in September 2024, his name became involved in controversy.
Although no official complaint was filed, the issue was settled after the assistant professor expressed regret.
On Monday, Goa University suspended Dr. Pranav Naik, an assistant professor in the School of Physical and Applied Sciences, on suspicion of giving a female student access to an exam paper while an investigation was underway.
The university has denied any such accusations thus far, stating that it has not been notified of any paper leaks. Vice Chancellor Harilal Menon has insisted that neither staff nor students have ever complained to the university about the paper leak.
Two police reports were submitted to the Agassaim police station on the alleged case after a media report. However, before taking any further action, the police are awaiting a formal complaint from the university.
