Scholar’s death: Inquiry not over but PU to revoke officials’ suspension | Chandigarh News
Chandigarh: Panjab University has decided to reinstate the two engineering officials who were suspended after research scholar Jyoti’s alleged electrocution death, even though the magisterial inquiry — on whose pendency the suspension order itself rested — is yet to be completed.Registrar Prof YP Verma confirmed to TOI that the proposal to revoke the suspension of executive engineer-II Anil Thakur and officiating sub-divisional engineer (electrical) Lakhwinder Singh Dhanoa has been processed and will be sent to the Vice-Chancellor on Wednesday.The officials were suspended on July 29 following massive protests by students over the alleged electrocution death of Jyoti, a PhD scholar of the microbiology department.Ironically, the university now says it cannot continue the suspension because responsibility has not yet been established. “We cannot put that they are the ones responsible. The inquiry has not concluded,” Prof Verma told TOI.However, the suspension orders issued on July 29 stated that both officials would remain under suspension “until the completion of the ongoing inquiry/investigation or until further orders, whichever is earlier.”The magisterial inquiry has not submitted its findings. No authority has yet fixed responsibility for Jyoti’s death.The reinstatement of the two officials would mark a sharp shift from the university’s stand taken in the immediate aftermath of the tragedy, when suspending them was projected as the administration’s first major accountability measure. Since then, Punjab Human Rights Commission has taken suo motu cognisance of the incident, and the Vice-President of India-cum-Chancellor has directed a comprehensive safety audit of the campus.
