`Honest' prof kills himself in Joshi's campus

`Honest' prof kills himself in Joshi's campus
AMIT SHARMA

LUCKNOW, APRIL, 25: A professor at Allahabad University, incidentally the campus considered to be the backyard of HRD Minister Murli Manohar Joshi, allegedly killed himself because departments didn't give him the details of what they had done with the money he had distributed.

``I am taking the extreme step because I do not want a blot on my unblemished career so far. I know I am doing the wrong thing with my family but I am left with no choice,'' scribbled B K Mandal in his suicide note, minutes before he hanged himself from the ceiling of his room on the night of April 19.

Mandal, a senior professor in the department of Zoology and known throughout the campus for his ``honesty and integrity'' was due to retire in June. He was the convenor of the University's cultural committee. And in that capacity had released funds worth Rs 5 lakh to different departments for their ``cultural programmes.''

While the university adminstration asked Mandal for an account of theexpenditure, no department gave him the details despite his several reminders. Apparently unable to cope with the pressure and realising that a failure to furnish an account would tarnish his reputation, he locked his room on the campus from the inside and hanged himself.

Members of the All Indian Students Association have been staging a dharnaand demonstration since April 20 to press for their demand of taking action against the ``real culprits.'' Vice-Chancellor C L Khetrapal has assured the demonstrators for a probe into the incident but was reportedly advised by the bereaved wife Maya Mandal not to do so. ``The others may use this to launch a smear campaign,'' she is said to have told the VC. ``So please go for the probe after a while.''