ACB catches NU hostel warden accepting bribe
NAGPUR: The students of Nagpur University’s lower hostel near Law College Square heaved a sigh of relief when their warden Satyaprakash Nikose was netted by the anti-corruption bureau (ACB) on Tuesday while accepting a bribe from the mess contractor Bhagwandas Mishra. There had been many complaints against Nikose from the students in the past.
Inspectors BD Mishra and Rajendra Dudalwar led the ACB operation. This is the second big catch for ACB after a ZP education official was caught red-handed recently.
Nikose was caught red-handed while accepting Rs 20,000 from the complainant, whom he was harassing since many months. Earlier complaints had alleged that the warden demanded bribes from hostel inmates, but due to the blessings of his godfathers in the university, Nikose had never been prosecuted.
Even now, the NU administration has not decided any plan of action against the tainted official yet. Despite repeated attempts, officiating vice chancellor BV Gopala Reddy could not be contacted and pro-VC pleaded ignorance about the entire episode.
“We were all busy with meetings and his arrest by ACB is a news for us, that too arriving from independent quarters. We’re yet to receive any official communication from the cops,” Chaudhary told TOI. Nikose’s immediate boss and officiating registrar Mahesh Yenkie too did not pick up calls despite repeated attempts.
As per reliable sources, the tainted warden, who was earlier working with NU BEd college, was asking for a commission from the money deposited by students with the mess contractor towards lodging expenses. Nikose had given Mishra a cheque of Rs 40,000 from the university for mess expenditure, and was demanding half the amount as his “commission”. He called Mishra to his home at quarter No 14, Professor Colony, located in LIT premises on Tuesday afternoon to deliver the amount in cash.
According to Mishra, Nikose had been harassing him earlier too by demanding bribe from the students funds. His greed gradually increased, and he used to demand half of the money. Fed up with this, the mess contractor lodged a complaint with the ACB on Tuesday morning, following which a trap was laid. As soon as Mishra handed over the Rs 20,000 to Nikose, the ACB sleuths swooped in and caught him with the cash in his hand.
Sources allege that Nikose used to charge money to allow illegal persons, who were not students of NU, to stay in the hostel. Also, due to his harassment, many earlier mess contractors had quit the contract, leaving poor students in a lurch, said sources.
Hostel students, mostly from poor strata of the society, pay Rs 1,000 per month for their lodging and boarding charges. After paying Nikose his “commission” most mess contractors used to give substandard food to the hostel inmates to be able to make a profit.
Despite repeated complaints from students about substandard food and illegal persons living in the hostel, no action had been taken against Nikose. Even mess contractor had complained about Nikose’s behaviour, but no one in the university had dared to take action against him.