Guwahati, Feb. 10: The Kamrup (metro) administration has ordered a magisterial inquiry into the standoff at Cotton College State University over alleged harassment of a student by a teacher and has barred the teacher from the university premises for 10 days.

District administration officials said the magistrate had been asked to submit the report within 10 days and the teacher, Dimpi Mahanta, asked to stay away from the university during this time.

The institution of the probe prompted the students of the university, who were on an indefinite hunger strike for the third day, to temporarily call off the strike for 10 days.

The two students on the hunger strike, Hirak Jyoti Bora and Kamal Saikia, who had levelled the charge against the teacher, fell ill yesterday and are being treated. Sources said this evening that they were recovering.

Mahanta, the head of department, psychology, said: "I am not aware of any inquiry. I have not been informed about any restriction on entering the university either. As today was a holiday, I did not go to the university."

The vice-chancellor of the university, Dhrubo Jyoti Saikia, was not available for comment.

When the university administration did not pay any heed to the hunger strike, the students locked the administrative building entrance till last night. The situation was resolved after the district administration intervened.

The complainant, Kamal Saikia, a fourth semester student of psychology in the university, had alleged that Mahanta had mentally harassed him after he had complained in the class representatives' meeting about her irregularity in taking classes. He had also spoken of her alleged habit of abusing students if they refused to carry her bag from the car to her chamber and other orders.