Controversial BHU vice chancellor goes on 'indefinite leave'

Nine days after the police lathi charge on the girls, who were protesting rising incidents of eve-teasing on the campus, triggering a nationwide outrage, controversial Banaras Hindu University (BHU) vice-chancellor Girish Chandra Tripathi on Monday proceeded on ''indefinite leave''.
 
According to the varsity officials Tripathi, whose term as VC is scheduled to end on November 27, has cited ''personal reasons'' for proceeding on leave.
 
Tripathi's decision to proceed on leave comes within days of the union HRD ministry coming out with a notification inviting applications for appointment of a new VC for the prestigious central university in prime minister Narendra Modi's Lok Sabha constituency of Varanasi.
 
Tripathi, who was under ''tremendous pressure'' to go on leave, had earlier said that he would prefer to resign rather than going on leave. The VC had been under all-round attack over the use of force against the girl students by male cops and his remarks criticising the girls' agitation.
 
Tripathi, who had been appointed the VC of the varsity in 2014, had courted controversy during his tenure earlier also. He had earlier hit the headlines after removing Magsaysay awardee Sandeep Pandey as guest faculty from the varsity.
 
Though Tripathi sought to make amends by appointing a woman as the varsity's chief proctor, the first in its history, following the violence on the campus, his reported remarks during a meeting with the girls that they should not have gone public with their demands came as a huge embarrassment to the centre.
 
The appointment of a woman as the chief proctor was also viewed as a damage control exercise after the varsity administration drew flak from various quarters over the treatment of girls living in the hostels.  
 
Violence had flared up in the campus last month after police lathi-charged a group of girls, who were protesting rising incidents of eve-teasing on the campus and demanding better security arrangements.
 
A preliminary probe held the varsity administration responsible for the violence and criticised its handling of the situation. Uttar Pradesh chief minister Yogi Adityanath, however, claimed that ''anti-social'' elements were behind the violence