THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The Commissioner of Agricultural Production has initiated an inquiry into the controversy over the appointment of Dr. Chandrababu as the Vice-Chancellor of the Agricultural University. The inquiry was initiated on the orders of Agriculture Minister P Prasad. A special team has been appointed to investigate.

Earlier, Kerala Kaumudi had published a report that the biodata submitted by the VC was fake. The RTI documents stated that most of the information given in the biodata provided by Dr. Chandrababu for the appointment was false. Following this, the leaders of the Agricultural University Teachers 'and Students' Union lodged a complaint against the VC with the Governor, the Chief Minister, and the Minister of Agriculture. The SFI staged a dharna at the university headquarters demanding the resignation of the VC. The minister then ordered an inquiry.

The team will examine the information in the 90-page biodata provided by Dr. R Chandrababu. The statement of the VC and the opinion of the selection committee that nominated Dr. Chandrababu for the post of VC will be recorded. If the information is found to be false, it will be considered a criminal offense and the investigation will be handed over to the police.

As stated in the biodata

Professor at the University of Tokyo, Japan from 2013 to 2018
Visiting Scientist at Duke University in the USA, University of California, North Carolina State University, and International Rice Research Institute in the Philippines
In January 2017 alone, research was conducted on different topics at four American universities
Partnership research and academic collaboration with 11 institutions including Sher e Kashmir in Kashmir, Madurai Kamaraj University, IISER in Thiruvananthapuram
Implemented two projects worth Rs10.8 crore with financial assistance from the Central Department of Biotechnology

Informed by Institutions

E-mail from Duke, California, and North Carolina Universities in the United States that Dr. Chandrababu was not a Visiting Scientist
Tamil Nadu Agricultural University says Chandrababu has not been a visiting professor or scientist in foreign universities during his 38 years of service
11 institutions including Madurai Kamaraj University and IISER in Thiruvananthapuram say there is no participatory research or academic collaboration.
The Central Department of Biotechnology has said that two projects worth Rs 10.8 crore claimed to have been implemented are non-existent