Five-member panel declares OSD innocent

Shukla had alleged that the OSD had misbehaved with him and even threatened to strangle him to death.

After interrogating several people in the library and others, the panel concluded that though Naidu lost his temper and had a heated discussion with Shukla, there was no attempt at strangling or killing him. The entire charge about the threat to Shukla8217;s life was far from the truth, the committee concluded.

The committee also deduced that K G Vaidya had given wrong testimony to it, as there were contradictions in his deposition and those given by others. Apart from Shukla and Vaidya, the panel said, everyone had agreed that Naidu had done good work at the library, which should be appreciated and the false allegations condemned.

In order to avoid day-to-day conflicts between Naidu and Shukla, the committee suggested that the Department of Library and Information Science be allotted an independent physical space of its own. If possible, it said, the department could be given three rooms in the building earlier occupied by the NASSIC.

The committee also suggested that some funds be allocated to the department so that they could pay for the upkeep and other maintenance instead ofhaving to depend on the library staff for their daily needs.