Gokhale Institute's parent body secretary held for fund 'misappropriation'

PUNE: Police have arrested the secretary of the Servants of India Society, the parent body of the prestigious Gokhale Institute of Politics and Economics (GIPE) here, for alleged misappropriation of funds and cheating, an official said.

Milind Deshmukh was arrested on Saturday on a complaint by GIPE's deputy registrar Vishal Gaikwad, the Deccan Gymkhana police station official said on Sunday. "Funds of Rs 1.5 crore belonging to GIPE were allegedly diverted for the purchase of land for the Servants of India Society (SIS). The alleged misappropriation took place in 2022-23. Deshmukh has been booked under IPC sections 406, 420 and 34 for criminal breach of trust, cheating and other offences," the official said.

Deshmukh, while working as SIS secretary, in December 2022 drafted a letter with his own signature to the Gokhale Institute in which he demanded to free hold SIS land in Nagpur valued at Rs 1.5 crore, the complaint stated.

"Deshmukh didn't seek any permission. A letterhead of SIS was used where the letter had a stamp of Gokhale Institute. After receiving the said demand letter, the Board of Management of Gokhale Institute immediately approved it on December 14, 2022," it said. In February 2023, the GIPE informed the Servants of India Society to pay Rs 1.50 crore for the land in Nagpur, the complaint said.

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Financial impropriety at GIPE

"Deshmukh and his other associates violated the order in a planned manner. As per Deshmukh's demand, Rs 1.02 crore was sent to the Nagpur district collector's account while the remaining amount of Rs 40 lakh was sent to the account of the Servants of India Society by cheque," the complaint said. It was shown that Rs 40 lakh was used for obtaining old documents, stamp duty, documentation, contractor fees, administrative expenses and other expenses, it said.

Looking at the reasons for the use of the said expenses, it seems the said amount was misappropriated (by the accused) for his own benefit, the complaint alleged. GIPE was in the news for the past few days after its Chancellor and EAC-PM member Sanjeev Sanyal was first removed by SIS, over the institution's "declining academic standards" and its 'B' grade in a recent NAAC accreditation exercise, and then reinstated on Saturday.

Incidentally, Sanyal, in a letter to SIS president Damodar Sahoo that he posted on X, had pointed out to "controversies and accusations of financial impropriety at GIPE over the years". On his removal as chancellor, Sanyal had said the poor grade the institute received in the NAAC accreditation reflected the performance of earlier leaders, as it was based on data from the past years when he was not holding the chancellor's post.