Skip to content Skip to navigation

Guwahati IGNOU into CBI trap, Chief likely to become scapegoat


The Central Investigation Bureau (CBI) has arrested an employee of the Indira Gandhi National Open University (IGNOU), Guwahati Centre on alleged charges of financial scam worth about Rs.26 lakh. On Monday last the accused, Niranjan, was granted three days remand by CBI Special court. According to Senior CBI Chief, Hiren Nath, huge financial irregularities were reported in this prestigious institution and accordingly the CBI began investigation and detected a scam of Rs.25.65 lakh. The CBI has registered a case No. RC 0172010A0007, against the Director of IGNOU, Guwahati Centre, Dr Vardhini Bhattacharjee and the office assistant, Niranjan. The CBI has also seized all the records and other papers related to the financial irregularities.


According to the report, Niranjan has told the investigating team that in alliance with the Centre Director, he managed to manipulate lakhs of rupees by preparing false bills in the name of non-existing Manas Travels and Bajrang Goods Carrier. Besides this, while shifting the office from Chandmari to Christian Basti, about Rs.15 lakh, were manipulated by preparing fake bills in the name of Bajrang Goods Carrier. He has been reported of giving some sensational information about the purchases of vehicles and their repairing and informed the CBI that some outsiders were also involved in the scam. The CBI is trying to bring all of them in its net by its investigation going to the root of the scandal.


It may be mentioned in this regard that the IGNOU Guwahati Centre was running in a mess even since it was functioning at Chandmari. A news report filed by this reporter in the month of August 2008, brought it to the knowledge of IGNOU HQs at New Delhi, after which a lot of changes have taken place and the regional office was also shifted to the new and spacious place. In the recent case the Director, Dr Vardhini Bhattacharjee seems to have been made scapegoat. A big lobby seems to have been working behind the scene, which was not cared for even by the institution. The report filed by this reporter goes on as “according to the students, the regional centre is anarchic. There is no one responsible person except the Regional Centre Director, Dr V. Bhattacharjee, who has to remain most of the time outside the city on her official assignments. It is alleged that the Deputy Director, second in position, does not take any responsibility to solve the problems of the students.”


Refuting the allegations the official, informed this reporter that the report concerned was baseless as the functioning of the Centre was going on well. If the things were going on smoothly, how these anomalies have occurred and detected. Even in small organizations, there is system of looking into the affairs by the next official in absence of the Chief. The IGNOU Guwahati Centre has already issued a rejoinder that the director is in no way involved in this scam. Let us see what the CBI brings out in this case.


Comments

Suyog Bajaj's picture

Its very surprising to hear that a scholar of a prestigious university is involved in this scam, how someone who wants to seek education can have faith on their future.
Kanaksen Deka's picture

Knowing people like Dr. V Bhatterjee, her husband Dr. D S Bhattarjee I am to raise serious question on the ability of CBI officials in Guwahati. Regional Director IGNOU has just been tormented by the tyrants of CBI. The same has been done with another organization, Indian Institute of Entrepreneurship (IIE). These people have no idea about where real corruption is taking place! They are just running after issues which have hurt their inflated ego's.

Pages

Add new comment

Random Stories

Himanta ridicules BJP

3 Jun 2015 - 2:27pm | AT News
A resurgent Dr Himanta Biswa Sarma starts taking on BJP hardly a year before the assembly polls. The former cabinet minister on Wednesday took on BJP saying that the party won’t be able to fare well...

Mohilary demands more police

5 May 2014 - 9:47pm | Hantigiri Narzary
BPF President and BTC Chief Hagrama Mohilary demanded more police station and police outpost in the BTAD area to counter militancy as well as anti-social activity. Mohilary said that the council had...

Citizens’ Meet on Man-Wildlife conflicts

12 Mar 2012 - 7:57pm | editor
Journalists’ Forum Assam in association with Nature’s Beckon has organized a citizen’s meet to discuss about the menace of increasing incidents of man-wildlife conflicts in Assam...

World AIDS Day Celebration by AIDS Control Society

30 Nov 2009 - 9:09am | editor
World AIDS Day is going to be celebrated by Assam State AIDS Control Society, Guwahati on December 1 in a big way. A rally will be started from Judges' Field to be participated by at least 20...

Other Contents by Author

Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) is a revolutionary Act of the Government of India with tremendous potentiality of eradicating unemployment situation in the country. On February 2, 2006 first phase of NREGA implementation was started in 200 districts of the country in which seven districts of Assam were also incorporated. In the year 2007, the second phase of NREGA had started where five districts of Assam were also included. The third phase started on April 1,2008 where remaining 14 districts of Assam came under the purview of the Act. Hence, at present all the districts of Assam are implementing the provisions of MGNREGA. On March 31, 2012 Assam completed...
Citizens’ First , an NGO has demanded the land vacated by shifting of Guwahati Central Jail from Fancy Bazaar area of the city to be converted into a freedom fighters’ park with green coverage and installation of Martyrs’ column. In a memorandum submitted to the Assam Chief Minister, Tarun Gogoi recently, the NGO President Jagannath Chakraborty, Working President Ajoy Dutta, Ex-MLA and General Secretary Jagannath Das have urged an important issue relating to utilization and preservation of 64 Bighas of land vacated by shifting of Central jail from the city to outside. The memorandum pointed out that the Fancy Bazaar and surrounding areas in the midst of the city...
One out of every 1000 children born, is born deaf. An undiagnosed deaf child at 3 years of age will know about 25 words, compared to over 1000 words for a hearing child of the same age. Eighty one percent of the parents of a deaf child never learn to communicate with their child. About 530 schools in India educate around 50.000 children with hearing impairment in the age group of 5 to 18 years. The other children do not receive any formal education. Ninety percent of the deaf children grow up in hearing families with little or no experience of deafness. Deaf children face a complete disconnect from the world around them. A feeling of isolation and desperate loneliness develops within the...
Established in 1901 Digboi oil refinery is not only India’s, but Asia’s first oil refinery, which is now losing its glory due to present marketing policy and mismanagement. According to the workers of the refinery the journey of oil industry in India began from Digboi in Assam. After long sixty years, Indian Oil Corporation Ltd (IOCL) came into existence in 1962, with its first refinery at Guwahati. Under the IOCL and even prior to that there was no effort by the management to increase the production capacity of this refinery. Whereas, for the survival of refinery its capacity should have been increased to 9 million MT, it came down to 0.65 million tons. In the meantime, the...
India has a long stretch of international borders with Bangladesh surrounding throughout north, east and west. On the north eastern part, Indo-Bangla borders in Assam, barbed wire fencing work is continue for a longtime. Despite all efforts infiltration of foreign nationals from that country is continue. In between the two countries a vast area, called ‘No man’s land’ is lying where a large number of Indian families are living and there is nobody to look after their convenience and welfare. They are Indians, but they are not independent like other Indians. According to official reports, beyond the wire fencing on the borders 448 families are land locked. Out of them...
Industrial development in India has been dependent on political influence and leadership, ever since Independence. As a matter of fact no fair policy could be framed for equal development of all the regions of the country simultaneously. That is why some of the regions remained completely neglected, while others developed beyond limitations, resulting in heavy congestions. Besides, the metropolis and a few big industrial centers of the country, where opportunities are ample for growth, there is vast disparity in establishment of industries in various regions. The industrialization of a particular area depends on the degree of political influence in its favor. Unfortunately, the...
Mismanagement, fund crunch and irregular supply of raw materials has put the Cachar paper mill on brink of closure. The employees and casual laborers of the mill are put under tight corner and the management has maintained complete silence over the whole affairs. Production of the paper mill has been confined to the tune of daily material collection from various sources. The supply of disproportionate raw materials could not ease the tension of high officials. Supply of bamboo, coal, lime etc, are urgently required to run the factory. The problems in supply of bamboo from North Cachar Hills to this mill began about three years back due to legal complexities, unwillingness of...
In spite of tall talks of Assam Chief Minister, Tarun Gogoi and the minister of health and family welfare, Dr Himanta Biswa Sarma, about record progress in health sector in respect of establishment of health sub centers, appointment of doctors etc; the picture in this sector is far behind the truth. Construction of hospital buildings, payment of salaries and wages, organizing public meetings about awareness and precautions against diseases, can in no case be treated as the progress in health sector. It may be mentioned here that one health sub centre is required for every five thousand population in both rural and urban areas. Against every five thousand population, doctors, nurses and...
Ubati Riang, a sixty year old lady, who played a major role in bringing Barak valley militants to negotiation table with the government, is disappointed on the role of the state government for its dillydally tactics in solution of the major issues relating to the rehabilitation of those, who came forward for the peace talks. According to her recent violent incidents in the Hailakandi district of southern Assam, were the outcome of state’s inaction as regards the solution of the issues. The Riang youths are losing heart and peace is vanishing, she was reported to have said. She said that the Riangs did not ask any thing that was not possible for the government to agree. Their...
With growing intolerance and unrest minds among the youths of the country, demand for creating smaller states is growing day by day. Recently Uttar Pradesh Assembly has adopted a resolution to divide the state into four parts namely, Purvanchal, Avadh Pradesh, Paschim Pradesh and Bundelkhand. It is realized that this situation has attained importance because of the regional disparity in growth, discrimination in all rights and privileges and sense of insecurity at the individual and community level. Most of the Indian states are politically insurmountable state of affairs to all fronts especially in respect of political and economic fields. There are imbalances and unmanageable equal...