Assam: Cachar College principal suspended for negligence of duty

The Director of Higher Education, Assam has placed Cachar College principal Siddharth Shankar Nath under suspenion due to negligence of duty.

Notably, allegations of dereliction of duty came to light during the recently concluded class IV recruitment exam. 

The suspension was placed on the basis of a complaint by the College Teachers Association following which the Director of Higher Education ordered an inquiry.

The notification states, "During the suspension period Dr Siddharth Shankar Nath will get subsistence allowance as per Rule and will not move out of headquarter without the approval of the competent authority."

Earlier in August, the Cachar Police detained the Cachar College principal, Dr Siddhartha Shankar Nath for gross negligencies in the way the examination is conducted in the college.

Dr Siddhartha Shankar Nath has been detained by Cachar Police based on an FIR lodged by the Deputy Commissioner’s Office. 

According to the police, the deputy commissioner of Cachar, Rohan Jha, found egregious irregularities in the manner the exam was being conducted in the college. According to sources, Dr Swadesh Ranjan Das, head of the philosophy department and someone who the college's principal, Dr Siddhartha Shankar Nath, has confidence in, visited the DC's office this morning.

The deputy commissioner summoned Dr Nath, the College's principal and in charge of the Center. The DC filed an FIR after noticing that the examination duties were not carried out in accordance with the directions. 

The Cachar Police sprung into action and detained Principal Nath. He was interrogated at the Silchar Sadar Police Station, following which he was sent to the hospital for a routine medical check-up. While the official word from the district police is that the Principal has been ‘detained’, it is worth mentioning here that medical is done before the arrest of an accused.