BJP leader accused of illicitly trying to seize control of the institute

The campus of the Walchand College of Engineering in Sangli district has become a war zone with industrialist Ajit Gulabchand, who heads the Administrative Council, accusing a BJP leader of illicitly trying to seize control of the institute.

Mr. Gulabchand, Chairman of the Hindustan Construction Company, and the college authorities have alleged that miscreants controlled by BJP’s Sangli district chief, Prithviraj Deshmukh, attempted to wrest control of the sprawling 150-acre college by ousting the current Director G.V. Parishwad with a brazen display of criminal force.

Mr. Deshmukh is also the president of the Maharashtra Technical Education Society (MTES), which set up the college in 1947 as the ‘New Engineering College’ before its name was changed to ‘Walchand College of Engineering’ in 1955.

The incident took place on Wednesday when Mr. Deshmukh’s men, led by MTES Secretary S.G. Kanitkar, reportedly stormed the college campus and installed their preferred candidate, M.G. Devmane, as Director supplanting Dr. Parishwad.

They then forcibly removed Dr. Parishwad from his chamber, snatched the keys of the premises from him and occupied his office while preventing other professors and staff from entering Dr. Parishwad’s office, it was alleged.

“We are concerned about the security and future of 5,000 students studying in the college and have accordingly sought the intervention of Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis and Education Minister Vinod Tawde to help maintain peace on the campus,” said Ravindra Purohit, a member of the Administrative Council.

According to Mr. Purohit, Mr. Devmane’s appointment as Director was illegal as it had no official ratification from the Directorate of Technical Education, Maharashtra, and Kolhapur University. He accused Mr. Deshmukh of illegally using his clout to dictate administrative proceedings.

Both Mr. Deshmukh and Mr. Kanitkar have denied the allegations, dubbing them “blatant lies.”

According to Mr. Kanitkar, the present director (Dr. Parishwad) had reportedly failed to submit accounts for the college, creating issues for the MTES with both the Income Tax department and the Charity Commissioner.

“Our motive in removing the director was to start an inquiry into the affairs of the college,” said Mr. Kanitkar, denying that any force was used to ‘topple’ Dr. Parishwad.

The college has been managed and run by the Administrative Council appointed by the Walchand Memorial Trust with the support of the Government of Maharashtra for over the last five decades.

At the heart of this academic coup d’état is a decades-long struggle for control and ownership of the reputed college between the MTES and the Seth Walchand Hirachand Memorial Trust (WHMT). Both groups have gone to court and filed cases against the other.

On Sunday, Mr. Purohit said he had already filed a complaint with the Sangli police against Mr. Deshmukh and Mr. Kanitkar.

The college convocation on Saturday in which Dr. Devmane was present as the “new director” was marked by the conspicuous absence of the dean of Kolhapur University — a gesture which questioned the legality of Dr. Devmane’s ‘appointment’, said Mr. Purohit.

This is not the first time that intimidation and coercion have been deployed to settle the operational affairs of the college, claim authorities. In January last year, the group of Mr. Deshmukh and Mr. Kanitkar forcibly replaced the security personnel of the college with their men.

The Sangli Police had allegedly refused to act when the college authorities sought their help. The authorities then approached the Bombay High Court which ordered the police to provide protection to the college.