More troubles are awaiting K T Jaleel, Kerala’s Higher Education Minister, who is under the scanner of the Customs Department, Enforcement Directorate and National Investigation Agency (NIA) for his role in importing “Quran and dates” through the UAE Consulate in Thiruvananthapuram without the consent of the External Affairs Ministry.
“Save University Campaign Committee”, a Thiruvananthapuram based organisation of academicians and educationists have complained to Governor Arif Mohammed Khan, who is also the chancellor of the University of Kerala, that the Ph D thesis on which Jaleel was awarded PhD by the University was fake, fraudulent and full of mistakes.
The Ph D thesis of Jaleel, based on the roles played by Vaariyankunnathu Kunjahammed Haaji and Ali Musaliyaar in the infamous Moplah Rebellion of 1921 is full of factual errors and has copied from other books.
“This thesis does not qualify to be a research work. The thesis based on which Jaleel was awarded Ph D in the year 2006 has not been uploaded in the site of the University Grant Commission. The team of experts appointed by the Save University Campaign Committee managed to get the copy of the thesis under the RTI request. The team found that there was nothing new in the thesis and it was not clear what the researcher was trying to drive home,” said one of the team members.
The Governor has sent the findings of the team of experts to the Vice-Chancellor of Kerala University for further action and examination.
Jaleel was questioned by the Customs Department officials on Monday about the import of Quran without observing the diplomatic protocols.
The minister who had claimed earlier that his contact with the controversial Swapna Suresh was limited only to the distribution of Quran gifts from the UAE Consulate, told the Customs that Swapna, one of the kingpins of the gold smuggling, had helped him. The minister had been “grilled” by the ED and NIA last month and this was the first time the Customs officials questioned him.