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Rampurhat, Jan. 12: The principal of Rampurhat College today lodged a complaint with police, a day after he fell unconscious when gheraoed by Trinamul Congress-backed students.
Shibashis Banerjee, however, did not name any student in his complaint.
“I have mentioned in the complaint that a group of Trinamul Chhatra Parishad members had heckled and mentally tortured me in my office. I know them by face. But I did not mention any name. After all, they are my students,” said Banerjee.
A senior officer said the police was yet to fix any charge.
Banerjee was released from the Rampurhat sub-divisional hospital around 8.30am today after he “felt better”. He had collapsed in his chamber yesterday when Trinamul Congress-backed students accounted him demanding an explanation for telling the media that they had threatened him with a “repetition” of last week’s assault on a principal in Raiganj.
Governor M.K. Narayanan today said “action should be taken against those who are involved in such attacks”. “College principals are respectable people. There should not be any attack on them.”
Presidency mentor group chairman Sugata Bose also sought a “comprehensive policy” to combat such attacks on college principals. “This is a social problem. It should not be seen merely as a political problem. The culture of students respecting the teachers will have to be restored. We believe these incidents will not recur,” Bose said.
The students who had gheraoed Banerjee yesterday apologised today.
“We seek an apology from the principal for what happened yesterday. We truly regret the incident,” said Amit Ghosal, the president of the Trinamul Chhatra Parishad unit at Rampurhat College.
After Banerjee lost consciousness yesterday, Ghosal had said he was resorting to “dramatics in a pre-planned manner”.
After the apology, Banerjee said he was ready to interact with the students. “I have not yet spoken to any of the students. If there is a possibility to solve the problem through discussion, I am ready to speak to them,” Banerjee said, adding he would be in the college tomorrow.
The SFI today brought out a procession in Rampurhat town condemning yesterday’s incident.
Buddha barb
Former chief minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee today said the Trinamul Congress-sponsored anarchy in colleges had triggered apprehension about the collapse of the education system.
“Just see what is happening in the colleges. The students supporting the Trinamul Congress are creating anarchy in the institutions. Principals are being attacked or threatened. They are stepping into college premises with police security following them. This has instilled fear among some people…. It’s really a pathetic state in the education sector in just seven-eight months,” Bhattacharjee said, addressing a conference in Howrah.
“We have told our boys not to take Trinamul’s path of violence and confrontation,” Bhattacharjee added.
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