After getting wind of the Ministry of Human Resource Development (MHRD) initiating a probe into allegations of plagiarism by some Delhi University teachers, the university’s teacher union has written to the Ministry to first investigate the allegations of plagiarism against their boss, the Vice-Chancellor.
“We have come to know that the MHRD has set up a committee to inquire into allegations of plagiarism regarding some professors at Delhi University. We wanted the MHRD to be aware that there is a pending case of plagiarism against Vice-Chancellor Dinesh Singh. The issue is part of the White Paper submitted by us, but since there is already a specific committee investigating charges of plagiarism, we have requested the Ministry to include this case too,” said Delhi University Teachers’ Association (DUTA) president Nandita Narain.
She alleged that the “case of Prof. Dinesh Singh’s suspected attempts to pass off five publications authored by someone else as his own,” was reported by a leading national daily in December, 2012.
“The university had defended the V-C by claiming that his researcher profile on “ResearcherID”, a website maintained by a news wire, had been hacked and that a complaint had been lodged with the Delhi Police. However, its replies to RTI queries following the incident reveal glaring inconsistencies in the university’s claims,” she said. The DUTA has also alleged that the university had remained silent on the details about the police complaint it had lodged.
“It has not provided any copy of this complaint in response to the RTI queries. It may be noted that the services of a DU teacher found guilty on the same charge had been terminated in the past. Such a case acquires far greater seriousness when the Vice-Chancellor, the person holding the highest office at the university, is allegedly involved,” said DUTA secretary Harish Khanna.
