Pune's Gokhale Institute alleges SIS president of misuse of funds, demands investigation into financial transactions

There has been a heightening of tensions between Pune's elite Gokhale Institute of Politics and Economics (GIPE) and its parent organization, the Servants of India Society (SIS), with both parties engaged in a public battle over charges of financial misdeeds and governance problems.

In a sharply worded press release on Thursday, GIPE communication officer Parag Waghmare charged SIS president Damodar Sahoo with misusing government money in a personal court fight. The release said Sahoo should also be made an accused in an ongoing FIR regarding fund diversion case in which secretary of the 120-year-old organization Milind Deshmukh has already been arrested.

Sahoo extorted money ( ₹10 lakh) from the Gokhale Institute in 2023. The extortion closely resembles acts of Milind Deshmukh, who is already a suspect in the same case," the statement read.

The case pertains to "serious allegations of land grab and forgery" and commenced as a criminal writ petition that led to an FIR, the press release said.

This is a serious concern over the abuse of public funds of the Gokhale Institute, which is a public grant-recipient body, for personal legal issues emanating from supposed criminal offenses. This is not merely financial abuse but a breach of public faith and the ideals of Gopal Krishna Gokhale," the statement read.

The GIPE, as a deemed university under Section 3 of the UGC Act, functions independently with SIS as its parent organization. The institute has issued a warning that any effort at misusing its resources amounts to a violation of UGC norms and institutional autonomy.

Waghmare claimed that even though the society possesses assets like rented properties, rent from the Amaya Hotel and office rooms on SIS campuses, the Servants of India Society still maintains a picture of financial hardship and takes money out of the institute.

Out of respect for its tradition, we had not spoken against SIS so far. But in the face of continuous media interactions and disinformation spread by the SIS President, we are left with no option but to state facts. We propagate the legacy of Gopal Krishna Gokhale out of no personal interest, and it hurts to witness the institution established by him getting embroiled in controversy," the statement stated.

The Deccan police on April 4 filed an FIR under BNS Sections 34, 406, 409 and 420 against Milind Deshmukh and others. Deshmukh has been arrested and remanded to police custody, which has been extended up to April 11.

GIPE acting vice-chancellor professor Shankar Das stated, "There have been developments day by day in the issue. We've released an official press release. The police inquiry is on, and I won't say anything more at this stage."

In a turn of events, the GIPE statement had quoted SIS president Damodar Sahoo as asserting, "Why didn't you take our permission to file an FIR against us?" GIPE had replied stating, "This may be a rare occurrence in criminal history where the accused anticipates permission to be granted prior to an FIR being filed."

At the same time, the institute also refuted charges leveled by one of the vice-chancellor applicants, Manoj Kar, regarding a lack of transparency in the search process. The statement explained that the search committee operates independently and reports directly to the chancellor and GIPE has no role to play in the selection process.

We request the concerned authorities to conduct a proper and transparent inquiry into SIS's financial transactions, and ensure public institutions are safe from abuse and misrepresentation," the institute added.

Selection process

Professor Manoj Kar, ex-member, Board of Management, GIPE, Pune, who had objected and raised concerns over the selection process of GIPE vice-chancellor, has written to chancellor Sanjeev Sanyal and UGC on Thursday raising doubts over the transparency of the process.

There is no publicly reported data on the number of applications received or identities of shortlisted candidates. The lack of data creates issues about transparency of the shortlisting exercise. Recent sacking of Ajit Ranade as vice-chancellor points to probable issues in the selection process.". The fact-finding committee reported that his appointment fell short of University Grants Commission (UGC) guidelines in that he did not possess the ten years of professorial experience that was necessary. Further, there were also concerns regarding conflict of interest at the time of his selection," Kar said.

These events have also created fears that worthy candidates will not be seriously considered by the search-cum-selection committee, Kar said.

"Given these issues of concern, I humbly request suspending the current process of selection and interviews until issues of transparency are addressed. Also to release the shortlisting criteria and names of the shortlisted to avoid pre-empting the decision-making process so as to ensure fairness and transparency," he said.