JU vice-chancellor debarred from campus

In a major development, Jadavpur University vice-chancellor Abhijit Chakrabarti has been asked to stay away from the main (Jadavpur) campus of the university, and pro vice-chancellor Asish Verma has been directed to take charge.

According to official sources, Prof. Chakrabarti has been asked to operate from the Salt Lake campus of the university and has been told not to go the main campus till the impasse gets resolved.

Prof. Verma, who is on leave till January 18, has been instructed to take charge from Monday.

Since January 5, the agitating students of the university have been observing a fast unto death to press for their demand of Prof. Chakrabarti’s resignation. As more students joined in, the number of students observing indefinite hungerstrike has gone up to 16. The move to bar Prof. Chakrabarti from the main campus of the university was seen as a positive step in the direction and many dubbed it as the desired result of the month-long movement.

The direction comes a day before education minister Partha Chatterjee, on the instruction of chief minister Mamata Banerjee, pays a visit to Jadavpur University and talks to the students. The minister is all set to announce the state government’s stand over the ongoing stalemate and how to find a way out of it. Mr Chatterjee on Sunday went to Ms Banerjee’s residence at Kalighat.

After coming out of the meeting, Mr Chatterjee said, “I will say whatever I have to say on Monday.”

The minister on the sidelines of an event said, “Tomorrow I will tell the students about the state government’s stand over the issue. I hope they will understand. They will also understand that the right decision has been taken to resolve the issue.”

Meanwhile, university student Shivam Ghosh was released from the hospital in the morning while Aveek Ghosh was still undergoing treatment. Instead of going home, the student went back to the campus and resumed hungerstrike. On the other hand, another student Sumit Kanjilal was hospitalised after his blood pressure dropped drastically. Despite students falling sick, the agitating students showed no sign to back off from their movement. On Monday, the parents of the agitating students would observe a one-day token hungerstrike to express solidarity.