Principal Shibashis Banerjee take a bite of the cake from a student

Rampurhat, Sept. 5: Heckle on other days, apologise on Teachers’ Day.

Students of Birbhum’s Rampurhat College owing allegiance to the Trinamul Congress who had gheraoed principal Shibashis Banerjee in January today said sorry to him and gifted him flowers and a cake.

Banerjee, who had lost consciousness and had to be hospitalised, said he was overwhelmed by today’s gesture and added that he had forgiven the students long ago.

Around 1pm, around 15 students came to the principal’s room and waited outside for a few minutes. The group was led by the president of the Trinamul Chhatra Parishad (TMCP) unit at the college, Amit Ghosal, and included union members Rabiul Islam and Mrinal Mukherjee. The trio were allegedly part of the group that had heckled Banerjee.

After entering the room today, Amit said: “Sir, We have come to you. Today is Teachers’ Day.”

Principal Banerjee got up from his chair, looking surprised.

The students touched his feet and gifted him the bouquet of flowers and the cake.

“Sir, amader jodi kono bhul hoye thake, tobe amra khomaprarthi (sir, if we have done anything wrong, we apologise for it),” one student said.

Banerjee replied: “Tomra amar chhatra. Chhatrara sikshaker kache chheler moto. Ami tomader agei khoma korechhi (you are my students. Teachers consider students as their own children. I have already forgiven you).”

The students requested the principal to cut the cake. One of the students put a piece of cake in Banerjee’s mouth. The principal reciprocated the gesture.

“I am overwhelmed by the respect the students showed to me. They said sorry. I told them I had already forgiven them. It is good the students realised their mistake and apologised,” Banerjee said.

On January 11, Banerjee was gheraoed and heckled by students owing allegiance to the TMCP for telling the media that they had threatened him with a “repetition” of an assault on the principal of Raiganj College.

Banerjee had collapsed in his chamber and was admitted to the Rampurhat sub-divisional hospital. After being discharged the next day, he had lodged a police complaint. He, however, did not name anybody in the FIR, saying he knew the students by face.

Amit, the TMCP college unit president, said today: “We had gheraoed our principal and he had lost consciousness. As today is Teachers’ Day, we apologised to him.”