Police baton charge students at Falakata Chowpathi on Wednesday. (Anirban Choudhury)

Alipurduar, Sept. 14: A fight over the control of a carrom board has shut down a college in Jalpaiguri’s Falakata where teachers boycotted classes after they were abused by warring factions of students.

Police today lathicharged to disperse the members and supporters of the SFI and the Trinamul Congress Chhatra Parishad (TMCP) who had assembled on NH31 for a faceoff, in continuation of yesterday’s violence in Falakata College.

College sources said yesterday two groups of students had an argument over the sharing of a carrom board in the common room and the two rival student wings were quick to offer their support and politicise the issue. They abused the teachers when they met the principal to complain against each other.

The college with its 3,500 students is known for frequent skirmishes between the two student outfits and gheraos of the principal that follows. The frequency of the feuds has increased after Trinamul came to power in the state, making steady inroads into Left bastions.

Ashoke Kumar Jana, the secretary of the teachers’ council, who had announced the pen-down strike yesterday, however, refused to reveal the nature of the abuse.

But today when the teachers were on protest demanding the return of proper academic atmosphere in the institution, a group of boys, allegedly owing allegiance to the TMCP entered the union office and ransacked furniture. The college union is ruled by the SFI.

The sources said the SFI members tried to enter the principal’s chamber to lodge a complaint but TMCP activists refused to let them in by squatting in front of the door.

The SFI members then blocked NH31 from 2.30pm at Falakata Chowpathi. A few minutes later when the police asked to clear the road for traffic movement, they had almost agreed. But a large group of 200 TMCP members arrived at that time and there was a heated exchange between the two sides. Shopkeepers downed shutters apprehending trouble.

With the crowd swelling, the police started the baton charge at 2.45pm. A large police contingent has been posted at the Chowpathi since then.

Sani Gope, an SFI leader of Falakata, said the TMCP had ransacked the union room without provocation.

“They destroyed the furniture in our union room and injured Sibu Sil, one of our members, by throwing stones at him. We tried to complain to the lecturer-in-charge but we were prevented from entering his chamber by the TMCP members. We then blocked the highway demanding action against those who vandalised the union room. But when the police asked us to clear the road in the interest of the public we did so. It was the TMCP that started throwing stones at us,” Gope said.

He added that the SFI would launch an agitation if no action is taken against those who ransacked the union room in the next 24 hours. The SFI has lodged an FIR for the alleged attack but has not named anyone.

The president of the district committee of the TMCP, Gadai Deu, alleged that two of their members, including a girl, were beaten up by the SFI supporters in the college itself. “One of our supporters who was coming to college on her brother’s bicycle was assaulted in front of the CPM party office. We have filed an FIR and we will launch a movement if the police does not take action,” he said. Both sides, however, did not comment on the lathi-charge.

Additional superintendent of police Anup Jaiswal admitted that there was a “mild” lathi-charge at the Falakata Chowpathi and extra force had been sent. “There was a roadblock for a brief period that was lifted as soon as we requested, but we had to conduct a mild lathi-charge to disperse the two sides,” he said.