Another Controversy Hits Pune’s Gokhale Institute: SIS Secretary Milind Deshmukh Arrested For Fund Diversion

The secretary of the Servants of India Society (SII), the parent body of the prestigious Gokhale Institute of Politics and Economics (GIPE), was arrested for alleged cheating and misappropriation of funds, a Pune Police official said on Sunday.

Milind Deshmukh was arrested on Saturday on the complaint of the deputy registrar of GIPE, the Deccan Gymkhana Police Station official said.

"Funds of ₹1.5 crore belonging to GIPE were allegedly diverted for the purchase of land for SIS. The alleged misappropriation took place in 2022-23," the official said.

GIPE was in the news for the past few days after its Chancellor and EAC-PM member Sanjeev Sanyal was first removed by SIS over the institution's "declining academic standards" and its 'B' grade in a recent NAAC accreditation exercise and then reinstated on Saturday.

Incidentally, Sanyal, in a letter to SIS president Damodar Sahoo that he posted on X, had pointed out to "controversies and accusations of financial impropriety at GIPE over the years".

On his removal as Chancellor, Sanyal had said the poor grade the institute received in the NAAC accreditation reflected the performance of earlier leaders, as it was based on data from the past years when he was not holding the chancellor's post.

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