BHU V-C Girish Chandra Tripathi goes on leave citing personal reasons days after varsity violence

Banaras Hindu University (BHU) vice-chancellor Girish Chandra Tripathi went on leave on Monday citing personal reasons, according to sources from the university. The BHU vice-chancellor was supposed to preside over a college event organised to celebrate Gandhi Jayanti on Monday. This news has come just days after Tripathi said that he would resign if the human resources development ministry asked him to go on leave. Though reports said he was not answering his calls or messages, Times Now reported that he could be in New Delhi at Lal Bahadur Shastri guest house. Tripathi had been at the receiving end for his mishandling of a girl students protest seeking women’s safety inside the campus that turned violent. [caption id=“attachment_4084921” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  File image of BHU V-C GC Tripathi. News 18[/caption] “I have been in touch with the HRD minister (Prakash Javadekar) right from the day of the incident and have briefed him about the situation as well as the measures taken. But if am I asked to go on leave, I will resign,” he had told PTI. Tripathi had also said: “Having done so much, it will be insulting to go on leave two months before my tenure comes to end. I will prefer quitting.” Tripathi’s exit from BHU, however, is more or less confirmed, as officials at the HRD ministry said that the process for appointing his successor has been initiated. However, the ministry officials maintained that the timing of violence in the BHU campus and steps for appointment of a new VC are completely “coincidental”. “Even if the unrest would not have happened, appointment process would have been initiated,” a senior HRD official said on the condition of anonymity. Last week, 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. Tripathi had earlier this week said that the violence was fanned by “rumour mongering” and “outsiders”. After the incident, he was criticised for trying to shift the blame on protestors for ruining the university’s image. In a video that went viral, Tripathi can be heard asking students , “Why did you protest and bring dishonour to the university?”“Koi bhi dharam ki baat karne ka adhikaar usi ko hai jo khud dharam par chale. Tum ye bataao ki ladkiyon ne dharm ka paalan kiya, ki ek ladki ki asmita ko lekar bazar me pahunchin? (Those who are righteous themselves have the right to talk about righteousness. You tell me whether the girls did the right thing by raking up the issue of modesty of a fellow girl student in public like this?).” With inputs from agencies