Governor condemns college agitation

Kolkata: West Bengal governor K.N. Tripathi has condemned the agitation at Charuchandra College here over removal of a security guard and said students should not behave in a way that deviates from the tradition of showing respect to their teachers.

Students should follow decorum and what happened at the college was unfortunate, the governor said, when asked about the alleged manhandling of a teacher during the agitation on Tuesday.

“Our culture and tradition underscore that students have to be respectful to the teachers,” Mr Tripathi said on the sidelines of a cultural programme at a city hotel on Wednesday.

A section of the students had allegedly manhandled a teacher and a non-teaching staff of the college on Tuesday during an agitation at principal’s office over removal of a security guard and inadequate safety measures on campus.

The college authorities had called for an indefinite shutdown from Wednesday following the incident.

The shutdown was withdrawn after education minister Partha Chatterjee intervened into the matter and said college should not have taken a unilateral decision without consulting the Higher Education department on the matter.

Mr Chatterjee said he was neither in favour of the gherao of the principal’s office by the students nor the subsequent decision of the college management to go for indefinite closure of the institution.

The students had on Tuesday claimed that the college authority played a role in the removal of a security guard and demanded enhanced security for students, especially girls, by restricting alleged entry of outsiders.

Principal S. Ghosh said the college had nothing to do with the removal of the security guard of a private agency.