Dr Saroja Bhate accused of transferring grant of Rs 30 lakh meant for Bhandarkar institute grammar project to her own account
Dr Saroja Bhate accused of transferring grant of Rs 30 lakh meant for Bhandarkar institute grammar project to her own account
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Noted Sanskrit scholar Dr Saroja Bhate has come under the scanner for alleged unlawful transfer of funds amounting to Rs 30 lakh to her own account when she was the honorary secretary of the Bhandarkar Oriental Research Institute (BORI).
The 94-year-old BORI, founded by Ramkrishna Bhandarkar in 1917, is one of the premier research institutes in orientology in the country. The institute has over 30,000 old manuscripts and recently the Union Commerce Ministry gave a grant of Rs 9 crore to modernise the institute.
The Regulatory Council (RC) of BORI met on Saturday and decided to impose a third party inquiry into the misappropriation of funds.
For the last six years, BORI has been working on its Kashika project. It is based on the works of the great Sanskirt grammarian Panini, who wrote eight chapters in aphorisms in 4 BC. Kashika is an explanation of the aphorisms.
French agency grant
To continue with the work, BORI had recently received funds of Rs 30 lakh from The National Institute for Research in Computer Science and Control (INRIA), a French agency.
Despite getting the funding, there was no progress in the Kashika project.u00a0The members of the RC allege Bhate diverted the funds into her own account.
Bhate was asked to submit the memorandum of understanding (MoU) between BORI and INRIA, which she did not to do according to the RC members. "The draft of the MoU has not been produced before us till date," said a senior member of the RC, requesting anonymity.
Dr Vasant Gadgil, vice-chairman of RC, said a resolution was passed in the meeting to institute a third party investigation in the case.
Chartered accountant firm Soman and Patki will be questioned. The written opinion shall be referred to a committee comprising BORI chairperson Leena Mehendale, two trustees and the secretary of the executive council.
BORI Honorary Secretary Dr Maitreyee Deshpande did not deny the inquiry, but refused to comment on the episode.
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