Latest news with #GIPE
Time of India
13-06-2025
- Business
- Time of India
Gokhale Institute & Servants of India Society now lock horns over cash control
PUNE: Tensions between the Pune-based Gokhale Institute of Politics and Economics (GIPE) and parent Servants of India Society (SIS) have flared again with both trading allegations over control of a key bank account. Tired of too many ads? go ad free now The feud comes against the backdrop of an FIR filed on GIPE's complaint in April accusing SIS's former secretary Milind Deshmukh of misappropriating Rs 1.4 crore. At a news conference Thursday, GIPE's officiating deputy registrar Vishal Gaikwad accused SIS of wrongdoing, including freezing its account. SIS president Damodar Sahoo countered the charges. "We came to know 3-4 days ago Sahoo wrote to the bank to freeze the account from which staff salaries are disbursed. But we met the bank's officials and made it operational," Gaikwad said. Sahoo, on the other hand, insisted that it was a joint account with two signatories, SIS and GIPE. However, GIPE had removed SIS's signatory without any prior notification, Sahoo claimed. "We wrote to the bank to freeze the account to know what happened. This has been a joint account since inception. There have always been two signatories and one cannot be randomly deleted," Sahoo said. On the earlier funds-related FIR against Deshmukh, Gaikwad said he had written to police asking them to add Sahoo's name to the case. Sahoo said he has no information about GIPE's letter, nor have police contacted him. In view of their allegations against SIS of misusing GIPE funds, Gaikwad said the institute wrote to the charity commissioner requesting suspension of SIS leadership and appointment of an administrator. Tired of too many ads? go ad free now Sahoo contended that GIPE has no right to make such a demand since SIS is its parent body. A few months ago, SIS had accused interim VC Shankar Das of allegedly bypassing procedures in faculty and staff recruitment at GIPE, which escalated to SIS removing Sanjeev Sanyal as chancellor and appointing an interim chancellor. Sanyal hit back, alleging lack of transparency in financial transactions of SIS. He announced that a panel led by JNU vice-chancellor Santishree Pandit would inquire into the allegations against Das, after which Sahoo called it all a misunderstanding and Sanyal was reinstated. Pandit's committee later gave a clean chit to Das.
Time of India
12-06-2025
- Business
- Time of India
New dispute breaks out between GIPE & parent body SIS over financial control
Pune: Tensions between Gokhale Institute of Politics and Economics (GIPE) and its parent body, Servants of India Society (SIS), flared up once again after both indulged in allegations and counter-allegations related to a bank account. Tired of too many ads? go ad free now At a press conference on Thursday, GIPE's officiating deputy registrar Vishal Gaikwad, accused SIS of wrongdoing, including freezing its account. However, SIS president Damodar Sahoo, who later met reporters, countered the charges. Gaikwad said, "We came to know 3-4 days ago that Sahoo wrote to the bank to freeze the account from which the staff salaries are disbursed. But we met the bank's officials and made it operational." Sahoo, on the other hand, stated that it was a joint account with two signatories, SIS and GIPE. However, GIPE had removed SIS's signatory without any prior notification. He said, "Hence, we wrote to the bank to freeze the account to know what happened as this has been a joint account since inception and there have always been two signatories and one cannot randomly delete one signatory." In April, an FIR was lodged by GIPE against SIS's former secretary Milind Deshmukh, accusing him of misappropriating funds worth Rs 1.42 crore. Gaikwad said that he wrote to the police asking them to add Sahoo's name to the FIR. Sahoo said he has no information about GIPE's letter, nor have the police contacted him. In view of their allegations against SIS of misusing GIPE funds, Gaikwad said that the institute wrote to the charity commissioner requesting suspension of the SIS leadership and appointment of an administrator. Sahoo alleged that GIPE has no right to make such a demand since SIS is its parent body. Tired of too many ads? go ad free now A few months ago, SIS had accused interim VC Shankar Das of allegedly bypassing procedures in faculty and staff recruitment at GIPE which escalated to the SIS removing Sanjeev Sanyal as chancellor and appointing an interim chancellor. Sanyal hit back, alleging lack of transparency in financial transactions of SIS. In a series of posts on X, Sanyal said that JNU vice-chancellor Santishree Pandit will inquire into the allegations against Das after which Sahoo called it all a misunderstanding and Sanyal was reinstated. Pandit's committee, which comprised two more members from SPPU, conducted an inquiry and gave a clean chit to the recruitment process taken up by Das. She said, "We had two online meetings and one in-person meeting at GIPE. We looked at all the documents and found that no rules of UGC or the state govt were flouted during the appointments made during Das's tenure. Sahoo withdrew his complaint against Das. A public notice was issued requesting submission of any evidence related to the complaint before the committee. However, Sahoo did not present or submit any documents before the committee. None of the allegations could stand scrutiny, and the process documents proved beyond doubt that all rules and regulations were followed." Pandit added that there was another complaint from a faculty member at GIPE alleging irregularities in the appointments. "We admitted the complaint and went through its allegations. We also gave the professor a fair hearing. However, since no rules were flouted, we gave a clean chit to Das and submitted the report to the chancellor a month and a half ago," she said. Sahoo said that he had not withdrawn the complaint, and was not called to give evidence. "I have not even been given a copy of the report nor was my side heard," he added. The SIS president said an advisory body was created to bridge the souring relationship between GIPE and SIS and keep communication channels open. However, Gaikwad said there is no provision for such a committee in SIS's byelaws. New VC Soon Both Gaikwad and Sahoo confirmed that the selection process for a new vice-chancellor for Gokhale Institute of Politics and Economics has been completed and the institute will soon have a new head. Sahoo said, "I am very hopeful that under able leadership and guidance, our new VC will shoulder the responsibility of GIPE and render his best services for all-round development of the institute and re-establish a cordial relationship between SIS and GIPE."
Hindustan Times
12-06-2025
- Business
- Hindustan Times
Pune's GIPE demands administrator for Servants of India Society
In a major escalation of the ongoing dispute, the Gokhale Institute of Politics and Economics (GIPE) has formally demanded that the Servants of India Society (SIS), its parent body, be placed under a neutral administrator. GIPE has also urged the police to name SIS president Damodar Sahoo as a co-accused in an ongoing case involving alleged financial irregularities. At a press conference on Thursday, GIPE staff members accused Sahoo and ousted secretary Milind Deshmukh of misusing crores of rupees from the institute's accounts for personal legal expenses, payments to relatives, and irregular staffing. 'All this has been done while invoking the name of Gopal Krishna Gokhale, the society's revered founder,' officials said. In a statement, GIPE claimed that SIS has been draining the institute of its resources for years without contributing a single rupee to its functioning for over two decades. 'Internal documents and letters show that Sahoo and Deshmukh directed GIPE to pay their personal legal bills, salaries of their private staff, and make contractor payments unrelated to the university. Just last week, Sahoo directed GIPE's bank to freeze staff salary accounts, severely disrupting operations,' the statement said. GIPE has called for immediate suspension of the SIS leadership and the appointment of a neutral administrator through court intervention. It has also sought a time-bound investigation by the police and the charity commissioner, a full audit of past financial transfers, and steps to prevent further misuse of the institute's resources. The University Grants Commission (UGC), which governs GIPE, has reportedly instructed the institute to halt any further financial transfers to SIS and to submit records of all past dealings. Meanwhile, an FIR has been registered at Deccan Police Station against Deshmukh under Sections 34, 406, 409, and 420 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), for alleged misuse of over ₹2 crore in institutional and government funds. 'We submitted a letter to the police a couple of days ago, demanding that Sahoo be made co-accused in this financial scam. Both Sahoo and Deshmukh are also accused of attempting to form an illegal advisory committee to interfere in GIPE's functioning, despite the institute already having a UGC-mandated legal governing body,' said Vishal Gaikwad, GIPE's officiating deputy registrar. Joining Gaikwad at the press conference were administrative officer Kedar Tapkir and assistant officer Kedar Kale, who is also officer on special duty to the vice-chancellor. They said several senior SIS members, including vice-president Atmanand Mishra, have submitted affidavits accusing Sahoo and Deshmukh of gross mismanagement. GIPE officials alleged that the duo recently held an 'illegal meeting' to induct their sons and grandsons into the society, in what they described as an attempt to create hereditary control over the trust. 'We remained silent out of respect for Gopal Krishna Gokhale's legacy. But what we are witnessing is nothing short of betrayal. Sahoo and Deshmukh used GIPE's reputation and resources for personal gain, froze staff salaries, and harassed our vice-chancellor. This is not just mismanagement — it's a criminal conspiracy,' Gaikwad said. In response to the allegations, Sahoo said, 'I have been working for the society for over 40 years. I had written to Chancellor Sanjeev Sanyal requesting his intervention in resolving this issue to carry forward Gokhale's legacy. All the allegations against me and SIS are baseless. We are fully cooperating with the police and demand a fair investigation.'
Indian Express
12-06-2025
- Business
- Indian Express
SIS, GIPE trades charges again as they fight over funds, bank account
The strained relations between the Servants of India Society (SIS) and its institute Gokhale Institute of Politics and Economics (GIPE) is once again out in the open with both the bodies trading charges of wrongdoing against each other. While addressing the media in Pune on Thursday, Vishal Gaikwad, officiating deputy registrar of GIPE accused the SIS of freezing the bank accounts of the institute. On his part Damodar Sahoo, chairman of SIS, claimed that GPIE had unilaterally converted the jointly held bank account of the institute to a single-operated one which had prompted SIS to write the bank. Gaikwad said, as per University Grants Commission (UGC) norms, the sponsoring society does not have rights over the bank accounts of the institute. 'We learnt from the banks that our accounts were frozen. We managed to get them unfrozen but this is a gross violation of rules,' he claimed. Gaikwad said they have written to the Deccan Police to include the name of Sahoo in the ongoing case of allegedly fraudulently transferring Rs 1.42 crores from GIPE for the use of SIS. 'We have also written to the charity commissioner asking for the present board of SIS to be dismissed and appointment of a neural observer in its place,' he said. Relations between SIS and GIPE have soured since the last year with both the bodies trading charges against each other. GIPEs chancellor Sanjeev Sanyal had made serious allegations against Sahoo and others of misappropriating funds. Sanyal was swiftly removed from his position by Sahoo but was reinstated. Milind Deshmukh, the secretary of the SIS was arrested by the Deccan Police for his role in the multi-crore corruption scandal that had rocked the institute. Deshmukh was later removed from his position and is out on bail now. Sahoo on his part claimed that GIPE had unilaterally deviated from the convention of jointly operated accounts which had prompted the SIS to write to the bank. 'The GPIE had not intimated of the conversion of the account to single operated,' he said. Asked about the formation of an advisory committee which Gaikwad had termed as illegal, Sahoo said the committee was for better coordination between both the bodies.
Hindustan Times
10-06-2025
- Politics
- Hindustan Times
SIS holds AGM amid turmoil at GIPE; president urges full-time V-C appointment
The Servants of India Society (SIS), one of the country's oldest institutions, founded by Gopal Krishna Gokhale, convened its annual general body meeting this week at the Gokhale Institute of Politics and Economics (GIPE) in Pune. The meeting comes at a time when society is facing internal challenges, many of which are closely tied to the functioning and governance of the GIPE. Among the key issues discussed were alleged administrative irregularities at GIPE, a pending criminal case, and the urgent need to appoint a full-time Vice Chancellor—a post that has remained vacant for months, contributing to uncertainty and disruption at the institute. On April 4, the Deccan Police registered an FIR under Sections 34, 406, 409, and 420 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) against Milind Deshmukh and others. While the investigation is ongoing, sources indicate that the charges relate to alleged criminal breach of trust and fraud involving institutional resources. GIPE, a reputed deemed-to-be university under Section 3 of the UGC Act, has reiterated its administrative autonomy from SIS. In an official statement, the institute warned that any external interference in its decision-making or misuse of institutional assets would violate University Grants Commission (UGC) norms. SIS president Damodar Sahoo acknowledged the need to address the leadership vacuum at GIPE and said the society had written to the Chancellor, Sanjeev Sanyal, urging the appointment of a full-time Vice-Chancellor at the earliest. 'We have requested the Chancellor to declare the appointment without further delay. A full-time Vice-Chancellor is essential not just for administrative stability, but also to ensure academic continuity and regulatory compliance,' Sahoo said. He added that the society has proposed forming a panel of education experts to help align its governance practices with UGC guidelines. 'We are committed to transparency and to upholding the legacy of both SIS and GIPE,' he said. In April this year, 34 candidates were interviewed for the V-C position, and 12 were shortlisted by a designated selection committee. However, two months later, the appointment is yet to be announced, raising concerns among faculty and stakeholders. GIPE has been embroiled in controversy since September 2024, when then V-C Ajit Ranade was removed by the then-Chancellor, economist Bibek Debroy—a decision Ranade later challenged in court. Days later, Debroy resigned and was succeeded by Sanjeev Sanyal, who reinstated Ranade on October 21. Ranade resigned in November, citing 'personal reasons,' after which Professor Shankar Das was appointed as interim Vice-Chancellor. With legal proceedings underway and key administrative posts still in limbo, the coming weeks are expected to be crucial for the future direction of GIPE. Despite the uncertainty, SIS members expressed cautious optimism that the current issues would be resolved and that the institute would soon return its focus to academic excellence.
