Deepankar Sharda
Chandigarh, January 16
The chancellor has accepted the resignation of Panjab University Vice Chancellor Raj Kumar.
Renu Vig, Dean University Instructions (DUI), has been given the charge till further orders. She will assume office on Monday.
Sources said Kumar was asked to resign on Saturday; this followed after Kumar was accused of corruption by senior PU fellow Satya Pal Jain.
“The Department of Public Relations, PU, will talk about the issue,” Kumar said, when contacted on Monday morrning.
Meanwhile, an official statement said Kumar had resigned due to family reasons. “He has resigned due to some persistent family issues,” it said.
During the recent elections to the syndicate, differences between Jain and Kumar emerged.
“Following the acceptance of the resignation of Raj Kumar from the office of VC of PU, Chandigarh, Chancellor Jagdeep Dhankar has appointed Renu Vig, DUI, to discharge the functions of the VC from January 16, till further orders. Congratulations to Prof Renu and I assure her full cooperation,” said Jain.
Besides the graft charges, Kumar’s tenure was marked by other controversies as he remained at loggerheads with Panjab University Teachers’ Association and student groups.
Kumar, a professor at the Institute of Management Studies, Banaras Hindu University, was appointed as the 13th VC of PU on July 23, 2018, for three years. He was given a three-year extension in 2021. His tenure was to end on July 23, 2024.
