Hyderabad University V-C Appa Rao Podile again in line of fire, this time for plagiarism

New Delhi: Already under fire for his role in the Rohith Vemula suicide controversy, Hyderabad University Vice-Chancellor Appa Rao Podile is now facing flak for  plagiarism in his three papers published in 2007 and 2014.

Rao has also accepted the 'mistake' and said that he will ensure that such mistakes are not repeated in future. 

According to the Wire, six plagiarised sentences were found in the article ‘Root Colonization and Quorum Sensing are the Driving Forces of Plant Growth Promoting Rhizobacteria (PGPR) for Growth Promotion’. The article was published in the journal Proceedings of the Indian National Science Academy in 2014. 

The second paper titled - ‘Induced Defence in Plants: A Short Overview’, published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, India in 2014, one instance of plagiarism was found. 

In his third paper, one sentence was found to be lifted from his own paper in the past.

While speaking to the Wire, Appa Rao said that it “wasn’t a deliberate attempt” from his group, and that he takes full responsibility for the mistakes. “If we have plagiarised others’ data, we will retract the paper with regrets.

Professor Appa Rao Podile was in the news after Rahith Vemula, a scholar in the Hyderabad University, committed suicide alleging discrimination by the university authorities. 

He had on March 22 after nearly two months on leave.

Appa Rao had in the last week of January proceeded on an indefinite leave in the wake of suicide by Rohith Vemula.

Rohith's suicide on the university campus had led to protests not just inside the varsity but by students community across the country.

Amid intense pressure, Appa Rao had proceeded on leave on January 24.