Tamil Nadu Governor RN Ravi on Thursday, January 11, met Periyar University Vice Chancellor R Jagannathan, who recently came under the scanner for corruption charges, at the university campus in Salem. The meeting took place despite the student body’s protest condemning the Governor for meeting with an accused. According to reports, close to 200 students staged the demonstration at the university. They attempted to wave black flags at the Governor but were detained and lodged at a marriage hall nearby.
Periyar University’s Vice Chancellor R Jagannathan was arrested on charges of fraud by the Karuppur police on December 26 for allegedly forging several documents and for having been involved in fraudulent activities related to the university’s construction works. The Vice Chancellor was also charged under sections of the Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act for allegedly threatening and abusing A Elangovan, legal advisor of the university’s Employees Union. An FIR was filed based on Elangovan’s complaint.
Jagannathan was, however, granted bail by the Madras High Court on January 2.
Governor Ravi’s itinerary was released on Wednesday, which triggered widespread outrage among students in the university. Yet, he landed in Salem around 12:30 pm and spent two hours at the university. Of the two hours, media reports suggest that he spent 20 minutes with R Jagannathan. The Governor then travelled to Coimbatore airport from where he boarded his flight to Chennai.