New Delhi: Amid a raging row at JNU over an event against hanging of Afzal Guru, the varsity on Monday made certain changes in the top management including appointment of a new Rector.
In an emergent meeting of the JNU Executive Council held today, the varsity appointed Chintamani Mohapatra professor at the School of International Studies as the Rector.
Terming the appointments a "strictly routine" affair, JNU Registrar Bhupinder Zutshi told PTI, "While Mohapatra has been appointed the Rector, professor Prasanjit Sen who was currently holding the position has been granted extension of one month to facilitate the transition face".
Zutshi, who himself is officiating as Registrar, is due to retire from this position on March 31 but he will continue to be a professor in the varsity.
"A three-member search committee was formed today to finalise the appointment of the next Registrar. The vacancies for the post were advertised and applications have already been received," he said.
The decisions taken in the meeting have left a section of students and teachers disappointed who have been demanding the Registrar's removal over handling of the current row at the university.
"For the past one week students and teachers have been demanding the removal of the Registrar but the administration has not paid any heed to our demands. This shows that there is some kind of larger conspiracy by the administration to act against the students," a member of JNU Teachers Association (JNUTA) said.
A sit-in dharna was also organised by students outside the administration block of the university demanding the same.
"We wanted the Vice Chancellor to take action against the Registrar for misguiding him in the way February 9 incident should have been handled," said JNU student's union vice president Shehla Rashid Shora.
Jawaharlal Nehru University is caught in a row over an event on the campus to commemorate the hanging of Parliament attack convict Afzal Guru, where "anti-national" slogans were allegedly raised.
The varsity's students union president Kanhaiya Kumar is in judicial custody in a sedition case in connection with the February 9 event. Two other students Umar Khalid and Anirban Bhattacharya are in police custody in the same case.
