Kannur, Sep 17 (IANS) Eighteen years after a professional assistant was purportedly appointed at Kannur University’s Swami Anandatheertha Campus at Payyannur, a university professor was sentenced to six years’ rigorous imprisonment by a court for creating forged documents to establish the fake appointment and misappropriating university funds shown as salary payments.
The court granted him bail after pronouncing the sentence.
The Kannur Vigilance Court on Thursday found Dr N.K. Deepak, 54, guilty under various provisions of the Prevention of Corruption Act and the Indian Penal Code and sentenced him to a total of six years’ imprisonment besides imposing a fine of Rs 80,000.
He is a native of Chirakkal in Kannur.
The case dates back to 2008, when the university registrar issued an order for the appointment of a professional assistant on a daily wage basis in the Physics Department at the Swami Anandatheertha Campus.
Deepak, who was then in charge of the department and entrusted with selecting the professional assistant, allegedly created documents to show that the appointment had been made.
According to the prosecution case, he obtained a copy of the qualification certificate of a friend of another professional assistant working at the campus, added a fictitious address and prepared a forged qualification certificate.
The forged documents were then allegedly used to convince university authorities that a professional assistant had been appointed.
University funds were subsequently drawn by showing that salary had been paid to the purported employee.
The Vigilance Kannur Unit registered a case against Deepak and, after completing the investigation, filed a charge sheet before the Vigilance Court.
Vigilance Judge K. Ramakrishnan found Deepak guilty and handed down the sentence on Thursday.
Deepak is currently listed by Kannur University as a professor and head of its Physics Department at the Swami Anandatheertha Campus.
–IANS
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