A student atop the college gate. Telegraph picture

Krishnagar, Aug. 7: Students of Krishnagar Women’s College snatched flowers from a vice-chancellor, prevented him from hoisting the Tricolour and locked up teachers in a room when they assembled to celebrate the institution’s golden jubilee this morning.

The reasons for their wrath were the absence of a union room and a representative in the admission committee, besides paucity of funds for the students’ body.

The agitators belonged to both ruling union Chhatra Parishad and the SFI.

Hundreds of students started demonstrating in front of the college early this morning. Five teachers, who came around 8 to oversee the jubilee arrangements, were locked up in the teachers’ room.

Then they shut the main entrance to the college, preventing other teachers, Kalyani University VC Aurobindo Das and guests from stepping in.

The teachers being held hostage were set free when a big police force led by Kotwali police station inspector-in-charge Sunil Guha arrived on instructions from subdivisional officer Chandrani Tudu, one of the invitees.

But the police remained spectators when the VC was heckled and abused. Guha and Tudu said they could not act without instructions from either the VC or principal Chhanda Shukla Hazra.

Refused entry to the college, Das decided to hoist the national flag outside. He was supposed to garland the portraits of luminaries like Rabindranath Tagore, D.L. Roy and Kazi Nazrul Islam. But as he approached the pictures, some students pounced on him and snatched them.

“The girls pushed me, snatched the flowers from my hands, tore up the petals and threw them on the ground. They also snatched the national flag from the table and hurled abuses at me. I’ve not faced such humiliation ever,” said an emotionally charged Das.

The celebrations were called off in the afternoon. District magistrate .S. Meena has asked the principal to take action against those who led the agitation.