An FIR has been registered against the Vice Chancellor of Kanpur University for wrongful confinement, extortion, intentional insult with intent to breach peace and criminal intimidation under the Indian Penal Code. In addition, he has been charged with Section 7 of the Prevention of Corruption Act relating to public servants taking bribes, making demands for illegal gratification and the acceptance thereof.
Post the filing of the report in Lucknow, VC Vinay Pathak was also taken into custody on Sunday night.
The complainant David Mario Denis has alleged that his firm had been engaged to do pre and post-examination work at the Dr Bhimrao Ambedkar Agra University in 2014-15, of which Pathak was officiating VC. The firm had done this work till the 2021-22 session. When the complainant approached Pathak for clearance of payment for the 2020-21 and 2021-22 sessions, he was summoned to Pathak’s home, on the Kanpur university campus in February 2022. It must be noted that while Pathak was officiating VC of Agra university his full-time role as VC was at Kanpur university.
There, Pathak told him that he was entitled to a 15 per cent commission, without payment of which the bills would not be cleared. Denis expressed his inability to make the payment. At this Pathak allegedly told him that he would take away the contract the firm had at Agra University and also at other universities. Pathak also said that eight VCs in the state had been appointed by him and that he had to pay money right up to the top. He also threatened Denis that he had connections with powerful officials and the mafia, and thus there was no hope that Denis would get help from anywhere.
When Denis finally agreed to pay the commission, he was given the name and phone number of one Lucknow-based Ajay Mishra (also named in the FIR) to whose home the money was to be delivered. During the interaction, Pathak also face timed Mishra and told him that the money would be delivered by Denis.
When Denis reached Mishra’s home, he was told that a transfer of Rs 2.52 crores had been made to his firm for the work done and the commission on that amounted to Rs 33 lakhs. However, when Denis could arrange for only Rs 30 lakhs, he was threatened and told that he would be killed if the deficit was not covered.
In April 2022, another bill of Rs 4.45 crores was passed by the VC. This time, the commission demanded was Rs 73 lakhs. Of this, Rs 63 lakhs was to be transferred to the account of an Alwar (Rajasthan) based firm, while the rest was to be paid in cash.
In September, another bill of Rs 2.19 crore was passed and Rs 45.55 lakh was to be paid as commission.
For the 2022-23 session, Agra University had a new VC, yet Pathak insisted that the commission would be charged as per his wishes. And if Denis did not comply he would lose work. When Denis refused to pay the Rs 10 lakh that was being demanded, Pathak got the work order issued in another firm’s name.
Denis said he was pushed to file the FIR after that last incident. “I was under great mental stress and my firm had faced huge financial losses. There was no way out”, he said.
A special investigation team is now looking into the case.
