After suspension, ex-registrar of iconic university in Bengal dismissed from job

Kolkata, Dec 13 (IANS) The suspended registrar of iconic Rabindra Bharati University (RBU) Subir Maitra in Kolkata has been dismissed from service on various charges, including financial irregularities.

The information about the decision of his dismissal has already been communicated to him through a communique issued on Thursday evening, an insider from the university said.

An inquiry was initiated against Maitra a couple of months ago following allegations of severe financial irregularities against him.

On November 5, the inquiry officer submitted a report to the university authorities based on his findings in the matter. After that, the university authorities examined the report and, accordingly, issued a show-cause notice to Maitra seeking his reply within seven days.

After receiving his reply to the show-cause notice, insiders said the university authorities once again reviewed the report findings, statements of witnesses and the reply from Maitra.

Following a detailed review of all these aspects, the university authorities finally took the decision to dismiss him from his service and the matter was intimated to him through the communiqué dated Thursday.

It is learnt that following the dismissal from service, some of his retirement benefits will also be withheld. At the same time, he will have to refund the money incurred as a loss because of the financial irregularities that he indulged in.

Maitra was suspended as the university registrar and replaced by an acting registrar soon after the probe into the matter was initiated against him.

Since July 2023, Rabindra Bharati University has been functioning without a full-time vice-chancellor running under a former Chief Justice of Karnataka High Court, who was appointed as the interim vice-chancellor by Governor C.V. Ananda Bose.

The West Bengal government then accused the Governor of appointing the interim vice-chancellor without consulting the state education department.

Recently, the West Bengal education department initiated the process of appointing a full-time vice-chancellor through a search committee constituted for that purpose.