A LONG FAMILY FEUD loaded with bitter legal battles over the ownership of Karnataka’s first private university has taken a shocking turn with the murder of the university’s former vice-chancellor. Ayyappa Dore, 52, former vice-chancellor of Alliance University in Chandapura near Bengaluru, was hacked to death near his residence in R.T. Nagar, Bengaluru, on October 15. Dore had left home after dinner for a stroll; his wife woke up the next morning and realised he was missing. She alerted the police, who found his body with multiple stab wounds near a playground.
Dore had served as vice-chancellor between 2010 and 2013, before he took the plunge into civic activism. He floated his own political outfit, Jana Samanyara Paksha, in 2017, and unsuccessfully contested the 2018 assembly elections from Muddebihal in Vijayanagara, his home district. However, it was his proximity to the founder of the university, Madhukar Angur, 65, that reportedly cost him his life. Madhukar’s younger brother and cofounder of the university, Sudhir Angur, 57, allegedly plotted the murder of Dore and Madhukar to gain control over Alliance. Dore met his end, but Madhukar escaped.
Ayyappa Dore- Former vice-chancellor of Alliance University (2010-2013). Floated his own political outfit, Jana Samanyara Paksha, in 2017. Was allegedly close to Madhukar Angur.
The day after Dore’s body was found, the police arrested Sudhir and Suraj Singh, 27, an MBA graduate. The police had traced Singh’s phone calls to Sudhir. Pavana Dibbur, Dore’s wife and a former vice-chancellor, had informed the police about the recent tiff between Sudhir and her husband over a Rs12-crore fund belonging to the college.
According to the police, Sudhir hired Singh as an officer in the university a few months ago, and offered him Rs1 crore to murder Dore, who is close to Madhukar. “Sudhir also offered Rs20 lakh each to Suraj’s four accomplices,” said Bengaluru City Commissioner Bhaskar Rao, at a press meet. After the police tracked Singh down, he confessed to the crime.
According to the police, the assailants had been shadowing Dore since September. On October 15, they executed the plan under the cover of darkness and split. Singh visited Sudhir’s house soon after the crime and then checked into a hotel, from where he was nabbed by the police. Among Singh’s accomplices, prime accused Ganesh was arrested on October 20 after an encounter with the police. The hunt is on for the others.
First private university
Alliance Business School was set up in 2005 by Madhukar, an award-winning professor who was with the University of Michigan-Flint. In 2010, Alliance got university status after the Karnataka assembly passed the Alliance University bill, and was recognised by the University Grants Commission. It paved the way for other private universities in the state. Today, the state has 18 private universities.
But, the feud in the Angur family exposed the vulnerability of the 7,000 students studying in the university. Frequent feuds used to disrupt the the academic session. In the past, distraught students had taken to social media to petition the government for resumption of classes and conduct of examinations. Many students even sought to withdraw their admission, saying the university no longer had an “academic atmosphere”.
Madhukar Angur- Founded Alliance Business School in 2005. Was chancellor until 2016. A government-appointed panel said he presided over financial irregularities to the tune of Rs96 crore.
The dispute started in 2014. In the following year, Madhukar dropped his brother and other family members from the board and filed a police case against them, accusing them of “mismanagement”. While Sudhir had the support of his sisters Mala Gowda and Shaila Chebbi (wife of a former cop) and nephew Abhay Chebbi, Madhukar was alone.
In February 2016, Madhukar was arrested on charges of raping his niece and was later released, only to face another charge of rape by an executive. In April 2016, Madhukar was fired as chancellor; the sponsoring body of the university passed a resolution naming Sudhir as chancellor for five years.
In June that year, the power tussle got so bad that the university was closed for two weeks and semester exams had to be postponed. Three months later, Madhukar forcibly became the chancellor, but was again thrown out by his brother.
The government was helpless as it had no legal right to intervene in a private university. It then brought an amendment in the assembly. In November 2016, the government appointed a committee headed by senior academic M.I. Savadatti to investigate into the allegations of misappropriation. The panel found that Madhukar had presided over huge financial irregularities between 2010 and 2016, which had caused a loss of Rs96 crore to the university. This included Rs41.48 crore collected as fees from students and Rs48.18 crore of “highly suspicious” payments made to vendors. As per the committee’s recommendation, an administrator—deputy commissioner of Bengaluru Urban V. Shankar—was appointed. The following year, Madhukar arrived at the campus, equipped with a court order installing him as the chancellor. He was allegedly attacked by goons and driven out.
A day after Sudhir was detained by the police following Dore’s murder, the university, in its press statement, expressed shock at the sudden demise of its vice-chancellor. The statement signed by registrar Madhu Sudan Mishra condemned the heinous act and urged the media not to go by the “false statements” made by Madhukar. It said that given the history of the conflict, Madhukar is making full use of the current situation. It also stated that the Karnataka High Court had upheld injunction orders restraining Madhukar and his wife, Priyanka, from entering the university premises.