Hyderabad: The State Government has initiated action against Kakatiya University Vice-Chancellor Professor Thatikonda Ramesh for alleged corrupt practices and irregularities in fund utilization, staff recruitment, and awarding PhDs to research scholars. State Principal Secretary to the Education Department B Venkatesham has instructed the Director-General of the Vigilance and Enforcement wing to form a team to investigate the allegations against Professor Ramesh and provide a report to the government immediately.
The Secretary stated that certain faculty members of Kakatiya University have accused the Vice-Chancellor of unlawfully retaining terminated faculty, conducting illegal transfers, making unfair academic appointments, and approving fraudulent projects submitted by students. Sources indicate that the Vice-Chancellor has been operating under the influence of BRS leaders, granting undue favors in recruitment and the awarding of PhD degrees. Allegations have been made that senior BRS leader and MLA Palla Rajeshwar Reddy influenced the Vice-Chancellor’s decisions during his tenure as MLC of the Nalgonda, Warangal, and Khammam Graduate MLC constituency.
The vigilance probe against the Vice-Chancellor, coming ahead of the biennial elections to the MLC post this month, has taken on political significance. As an opposition party leader in the BRS regime, Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy previously sparked controversy by accusing the Kakatiya Vice-Chancellor of corruption. He received numerous complaints from student unions and faculty members about Ramesh’s alleged misappropriation of funds and the encroachment of university lands by influential BRS leaders in the Warangal district. Reddy had promised to order a probe against the Vice-Chancellor.
