Teachers at Jadavpur University on Monday wrote to vice-chancellor Suranjan Das about their anxiety after a audio clip emerged where a purported Trinamul student leader could be heard saying he “can hold a teacher by the collar of his shirt”.
“After this audio, can the teachers of JU feel safe?” the teachers wrote.
Das refused to comment on the matter. JU pro vice-chancellor Chiranjeeb Bhattacharya said: “We will examine whether the audio clip is genuine or not. Heckling teachers is against JU’s culture.”
The letter, signed by Partha Pratim Roy, general secretary of the teachers’ association, says: “We have received one shocking audio file…. I am sharing the audio file with you. After this audio, can the teachers of JU feel safe? If anything happens to any of the teachers, who will take responsibility….”
Roy and other teachers told The Telegraph that the voice in the clip was of Sanjib Pramanick, president of the JU unit of the Trinamul Congress Chhatra Parishad (TMCP). Pramanick said the veracity of the clip should be ascertained. “This is a conspiracy by SFI leaders and the Leftist teachers’ association to malign me,” said Pramanick.
In the clip, someone says: “Why have we been reduced to a non-existent force at Jadavpur University? I am telling you today ‘let me know which teacher I must hold by the collar?’ Need I say more? (Let me know) whose collar must I hold? I will do it.”
“You are not aware of my history or activities. I don’t love to talk about myself....Sanjib Pramanick can hold any person belonging to JUTA (Jadavpur University Teachers’ Association) by his collar today.”
The audio clip comes 17 days after a video clip emerged where a youth identified as Giyasuddin Mondal, a former president of the Aliah University unit of the TMCP, was seen gesticulating at the then vice-chancellor of Aliah University, Mahammad Ali, and heard telling him “we will slap you”, box your ears”.
JU professor Roy said: “Leaders like Sanjib Pramanick are nominated to governing bodies of state-aided colleges. The teachers have every reason to be worried about their safety.”
Pramanick, doing PhD at JU, was nominated to the governing bodies of two colleges last month.
