Former Gujarat University staffer vandalises department office, causes ₹2.4 lakh damage

Chaos broke out at Gujarat University on Monday afternoon after a former temporary employee allegedly stormed into the Department of Botany, Bioinformatics and Climate Change Impact Management, threatened senior faculty members and vandalised office property worth an estimated ₹2.4 lakh, according to a police complaint.

The accused, identified as Tejas Rasikbhai Patel, is a former temporary worker who, police said, was dismissed from service a year ago by the then head of department owing to “inappropriate behaviour at work”.

According to the FIR lodged by Prof Hiteshbhai Arvindbhai Solanki, the current head of the department, Patel arrived at the university building around 2.45 pm, wielding a stick and began abusing staff members. Witnesses said Patel shouted threats, demanding to know the whereabouts of Solanki, and declared that he would kill him.

“The accused barged into his office with a stick and started attacking. Somehow, Solanki managed to escape, but he went on to damage property and create panic among staff and students,” said the police 

The vandalism reportedly caused extensive damage to departmental facilities. Police said Patel smashed four glass doors (₹50,000), four servers (value to be assessed), four LED screens (₹45,000), two printers (₹15,000), a glass table and furniture (₹10,000), and three all-in-one desktop computers (₹1.2 lakh), causing a total estimated loss of ₹2.4 lakh.

Faculty members and staff present at the time of the incident, including Prof Bharatbhai Maitreya, Dr Naineshbhai Modi and Dr Saumyabhai Patel, corroborated the sequence of events in their statements.

The Gujarat University Police have registered a case under relevant sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita for criminal intimidation, trespass, assault and mischief causing damage. Police said efforts are on to trace Patel, who fled the spot after the incident.