Jasbir Singh Ahluwalia, who was unceremoniously removed as Vice-Chancellor (V-C) on charges of making an attempt to rape and outrage the modesty of a girl student and attempt to murder, has been appointed the first V-C of Sri Guru Granth Sahib World University, Fatehgarh Sahib.He was sacked as V-C of Punjabi University, Patiala, by the previous Congress Government in April 2002 after the Patiala Police filed a chargesheet against him.The decision to appoint him to the coveted post was taken at a meeting of the Sri Guru Granth Sahib Fourth Centenary Memorial Trust, a body set up by the Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee, on May 27.Among those who attended the meeting were Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal, with whom Ahluwalia has remained closely associated, and SGPC chief Avtar Singh Makkar, who is Chancellor of the varsity. Incidentally, Ahluwalia, who took over as V-C on Friday, also attended the meeting as he is the member-secretary of the Trust. “I have been working on this project since 2004. I don’t want to talk about old cases,” he said. In 2002, Punjabi University student Saru Rana had got a case registered against Ahluwalia and three others for attempting to outrage her modesty. Charges were framed by a Patiala court against the accused. Ahluwalia’s petition seeking quashing of the charges is still pending in the Punjab and Haryana High Court.
