BA Chopade to be appointed new BHU vice-chancellor; HRD ministry yet to give official word

New Delhi: The Human Resource Development (HRD) Ministry has appointed BA Chopade the vice-chancellor of Banaras Hindu University (BHU), varsity sources said. [caption id=“attachment_4340487” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] File image of BA Chopade. Twitter/ @vcbamu[/caption] HRD Ministry officials, however, did not confirm the development, indicating that the process of appointment was still on. Chopade is at present the vice-chancellor of Babasaheb Ambedkar Marathwada University. President Ram Nath Kovind, who is the Visitor to the university, approved Chopade’s appointment this week. He will take charge from BHU Registrar Neeraj Tripathi, who had been holding the additional charge of the top post since October last year. Chopade’s predecessor, Girish Chandra Tripathi had gone on leave two months before his tenure came to an end, following a ruckus on campus in September last year. The development came amid indications from HRD Ministry sources that the central government was upset with the manner in which the former vice-chancellor had handled the entire episode, including a protest by women students following an incident of alleged harassment. The ruckus started when a number of students, including women, and two journalists were injured in a baton-charge by the police after a protest against an alleged eve-teasing incident turned violent in BHU, one of the 43 central universities in the country.