P C Saseendran to take over as officiating VC of KVASU Wayanad

Thiruvananthapuram: Retired Professor Dr P C Saseendran has been appointed the officiating Vice Chancellor of the Kerala Veterinary and Animal Sciences University by Governor Arif Mohammed Khan, who is the varsity Chancellor. 

The move came barely hours after the Chancellor suspended former VC M R Saseendranath in the wake of the ragging death of Sidharthan. 

As per the appointment order, Saseendran, also a former professor of the University, shall exercise the powers and perform the duties of the Vice Chancellor.

Meanwhile, suspended VC M R Saseendranath said he received the suspension order while he was issuing similar orders to two staffers in connection with the tragic incident.

He also maintained that the Governor, as the Chancellor of the university, has every right to take action against him. He also claimed that no complaint was received earlier in connection with ragging.

Saseendranath said that he visited the bereaved family of Sidharthan on Friday and promised to bring all the culprits to book. He claimed that he received the Anti-Ragging Committee’s report on the same night by 10.30 pm, following which he initiated measures to order a probe to check if the wardens had reported the incident in time, adding that for the same, he was issuing suspension orders to them. However, he himself received a suspension order on Saturday morning, Saseendranath said. “So I am stopping the business and leaving the office,” he added.

He also said that small ragging incidents take place in every hostel during admission time. However, the Anti-Ragging Squad would resolve the issues immediately. 

“No such incident took place before. The students are living amicably in hostels. This is the first time such a serious issue has taken place. There are seven colleges under the University. There is no such problem in any of them. We did not know about the tragic incident. Nothing has come to our attention,” he added.