Gujarat University head arrested on atrocity charge

Gujarat University Vice-chancellor Dr Parimal Trivedi was arrested last week in a three-year old atrocity case filed against him by a college professor. A local court later granted him conditional bail after asking him to furnish a Rs25,000 (US$509) bond and surrender his passport, writes Mahesh Trivedi for Khaleej Times.

Professor Pankaj Shrimali, who hails from a Dalit community, a socially backward and underprivileged class, had lodged a complaint with the scheduled caste or scheduled tribe cell of the Gujarat University police station in May 2008 under the Prevention of Atrocities Act. He accused Trivedi of making abusive ‘caste-ist’ remarks to him in the presence of another professor. Fearing arrest ,Trivedi, heading the state’s biggest university, reportedly went missing for two days and also allegedly scoffed at the charges levelled against him, terming them “fake”.

After no headway was made in the case, Shrimali moved the Gujarat High Court two months ago by filing a petition. The court ordered the city police to conclude the probe and submit the report by 21 February.

The police are also enquiring into charges of corruption against Trivedi. A suspended professor, Pradip Prajapati, has accused him of indulging in corruption worth millions of rupees in connivance with other officials.
Full report on the Khaleej Times site