A temporary fourth-grade employee of Vivekananda College in Alipurduar has been dismissed from service following allegations of prolonged absenteeism and misconduct.
The college’s principal also filed a police complaint on Wednesday, alleging that the employee threatened him over the phone after being served a showcause notice.
The dismissed employee, Raju Roy Adhikary, was working as a temporary Group D staff member at the college.
He is a former general secretary of the college’s students’ union and the son of Chakradhar Roy, a member of the Trinamool-run Alipurduar 1 panchayat samiti.
According to college authorities, Adhikary had been absent from duty for an extended period without authorisation. He had not attended work since July 2025 and remained absent for 117 consecutive working days while allegedly continuing to receive his salary, said sources.
Srijit Das, the principal, said a showcause notice had been issued to Adhikary, seeking an explanation for his prolonged absence. However, no response has come.
“Raju had not been attending college for a long time. Recently, his salary was also increased. I issued a show-cause notice, but he did not reply. Instead, he threatened me over the phone on Tuesday evening. Following this, the college administration decided to dismiss him from service, and I have lodged a police complaint,” said Das.
The principal said the college’s governing body became non-functional on May 5, complicating administrative procedures, but action was initiated after repeated attempts to obtain an explanation from the employee failed.
Following the complaint, officers at the Alipurduar police station have initiated a probe.
Chakrodhar, the father, rejected the charges.
“After the police investigation is completed, it will become clear that this is a conspiracy against my son Raju,” he said.
Demonstration
A group of residents of the Mahishbathani panchayat in the Old Malda block staged a demonstration on Wednesday outside the residence of a local Trinamool leader, alleging that he had collected money from beneficiaries of government schemes.
More than 100 men and women gathered outside the house of Sukumar Saha around 11am. The protesters demanded the return of money, which they claimed had been taken from them in connection with benefits received under government housing schemes.
Saha, sources said, left home shortly before the protest began.
Dipali Biswas, one of the protesters, alleged that she had paid ₹25,000 in instalments to Saha after receiving ₹1.2 lakh for the construction of her house.
Saha, however, brushed aside the charges.
“These allegations are completely false. I am not even a panchayat member,” he said.
The demonstration continued for nearly one and a half hours before police intervened.
Around 12.30pm, the demonstrators left after police officers assured them that their grievances would be examined and appropriate action would be taken if they filed formal complaints.
With the BJP's ascent to power in Bengal after the Assembly polls, several Trinamool leaders and workers have faced protests and arrests over the collection of money from people for availing of government benefits.