Lifestyle2 min
Jyoti's brother Pawan Kumar gets Panjab University job, but family still awaits accountabi
Three months after the PhD scholar's death near a PU hostel, her brother has a probationary electrician post in Ludhiana, while action on the inquiry report remains pending.
Panjab University has handed an appointment letter to Pawan Kumar, brother of PhD scholar Jyoti, three months after her death on the Chandigarh campus. He received it on Tuesday, fulfilling a job assurance the university made to the family after the tragedy.
Pawan and his maternal uncle, Surendra, arrived at the university that morning to collect the letter and start joining formalities. Pawan completed some medical checks at the Bhai Ghanaiya Ji Institute of Health on campus, then went to Sector 24 for more tests. In the afternoon, around 3:30pm, they met the registrar to understand how appointment and joining will work.
The letter, dated Oct 28, offers the post of junior technician (electrician) as a "special and exceptional case" against a vacant university position. Pay starts at Rs 19,900 under Level 2 of the 7th Central Pay Commission, plus applicable allowances. The job is on probation. Surendra said the registrar told them the probation period is three years; the letter says it begins on the joining date and can be extended under university rules.
Pawan will first be posted at the Panjab University Extension Library in Ludhiana, though his salary will be charged to the junior technician (electrician/driver, tubewell) post. The university can move him to another department or institution it runs if staffing needs change. He must report within 15 days of the letter's issue, carrying original educational certificates and a medical fitness certificate from the institute's chief medical officer. "Some medical tests are still pending, which we will get done tomorrow," Surendra said, adding that the family will then go home and plan his reporting in Ludhiana.
The job answers one family demand. The bigger one, accountability, has not moved. Jyoti, 28, a Microbiology PhD scholar, died on July 28 near Girls Hostel No. 8 on the South Campus while heading to her department. A magisterial inquiry followed.
The Chandigarh deputy commissioner sent the inquiry report to the PU vice-chancellor on Oct 27. It asks the university to fix responsibility on the SDE (Electrical) concerned, the JE-in-charge, the electrical inspector and other electrical maintenance staff. It also calls for departmental proceedings over lapses in inspection, maintenance, supervision and electrical safety management.
The family has questioned why two engineering officials suspended after Jyoti's death were reinstated before the inquiry finished. It says it has not officially received the report and is waiting to see what the university does with its recommendations. For students and staff on campus, that decision will show how seriously PU treats safety failures.
Read the original report: Times of India.
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