Utkal Sangeet Mahavidyalaya students protest outside their campus. Telegraph picture

Bhubaneswar, Aug. 22: Classes at Utkal Sangeet Mahavidyalaya, which were suspended for an indefinite period following student unrest earlier this month, will resume from Friday.

Students of drama have been demanding the ouster of visiting faculty member of stagecraft Lalatendu Panigrahi for allegedly harassing them.

On August 7, their agitation took a violent turn as they smashed glass windows and doors, damaged furniture and locked up the teachers for nearly four hours in the academic block. They also allegedly injured the accused teacher by pelting stones at him.

“We have had several rounds of discussions with students, but they are not willing to relent. We cannot suspend classes forever. It will affect students in the long run. Regular classes will be held from tomorrow, irrespective of whether students of drama attend or not,” said principal Tamasa Rani DasMohapatra, adding that she has requested for police deployment on campus.

She said she has already informed the state government about the prevailing situation on campus and the demand of drama students to dismiss the guest faculty from service. “The government will examine both sides of the story and take the final call,” said DasMohapatra.

Panigrahi, who had skipped classes ever since the incident took place, was present on campus for a meeting with parents.

“The students are upset because I never allowed them to do things that are prohibited in any educational institute. I have always rebuked students if they came late to class or without uniform. They want me to quit so that they can have their way,” said the guest faculty.

A group of parents and guardians, who met the institute authorities today, urged them to replace Panigrahi.

“He is friendly with girls to such an extent that they feel uncomfortable. The authorities concerned could assign another teacher for the drama department until the accused faculty member is proven innocent. Moreover, he hardly comes to college, probably once or twice a week when he is supposed to take 18 classes during that period,” said Balaram Biswal, uncle of a drama student.

Panigrahi refuted allegations of being irregular or misbehaving with girls.

“I have not missed any class. In fact, I conduct extra classes at times to ensure that the syllabus is covered on time. I have no ill intentions and treat boys and girls equally. Further, my monthly salary is Rs 6,000, but I always go out of my way to spend money during pujas and events of my department,” he added.