Baba Farid University of Health Sciences vice-chancellor Dr Sood takes charge
Dr Rajeev Sood has assumed the role of vice-chancellor at the Faridkot Baba Farid University of Health Sciences. He plans to prioritize finishing pending works and aims to make BFUHS the top university in north India. Dr Sood has over 40 years of experience in medical practice and has previously served as the dean of PGIMER-Ram Manohar Lohia Hospital in New Delhi. This appointment comes after the resignation of the previous vice-chancellor, Dr Raj Bahadur, who left after being humiliated during an inspection.
Dr Rajeev Sood assumed the charge of the Faridkot Baba Farid University of Health Sciences vice-chancellor on Monday.
On June 6, the state government had appointed Dr Sood as the V-C after getting a nod from Punjab governor Banwarilal Purohit. Dr Sood has been appointed for a period of three years.
Dr Sood said the priority will be finishing all pending works at the earliest. “I will put all my experience in to make BFUHS the number one university in north India,” he added.
Dr Sood, who was the former dean of PGIMER-Ram Manohar Lohia Hospital in New Delhi, has an experience of over 40 years in medical practice. He has a teaching experience of 26 years. He has been the dean of PGIMER, Delhi, for over five years and the founder dean of Atal Bihari Vajpayee Institute of Medical Sciences (ABVIMS) for over a year.
He has been attached to the Parliament as uro consultant for 10 years and to President Pranab Mukherji for five years.
The appointment of Dr Sood came almost a year after the unceremonious resignation of spinal surgeon and then V-C Dr Raj Bahadur.
On July 29, Dr Raj Bahadur had quit after he was humiliated by then-state health minister Chetan Singh Jouramajra during an inspection. Jouramajra had told Dr Bahadur to lie on a dirty mattress in the dermatology department of Guru Gobind Singh Medical College and Hospital, Faridkot, to express resentment over the poor upkeep of the institution. In the fallout of the incident, Dr Raj Bahadur resigned saying he “felt humiliated and cannot work in such an atmosphere”.
Since the resignation of Dr Raj Bahadur from the post of the V-C, medical education director Dr Avnish Kumar was holding the additional charge of the university’s top post.
On September 30, chief minister Bhagwant Mann had given a protocol the go-by and tweeted the announcement of appointing Dr Gurpreet Singh Wander, who is a renowned cardiologist, as the new BFUHS vice-chancellor.
Governor Purohit on October 11, rejected the move to appoint Dr Wander as the BFUHS V-C, citing rules and instead sought a panel of names with at least three candidates to choose from. Following this, Dr Wander withdrew his candidature for the post of BFUHS V-C. A panel of five doctors was sent to the governor, who picked Dr Sood and gave go-ahead to his appointment last month.
Now, the AAP government has appointed Dr Wander as the chairman of the Board of Management of BFUHS.
