A college in Calcutta usually isn't short of eager candidates for the principal's post but Harimohan Ghose College, outside which a police officer was shot dead in 2013, has struggled to find someone willing to brave its reputation for trouble.

The Garden Reach institute hasn't had a principal in four years. At least on two occasions, empanelled candidates are known to have refused to take up the assignment after realising what they were getting into.

The fracas in February 2013 that led to sub-inspector Tapas Chowdhury being fatally shot isn't the only instance of trouble that seems to be scaring off potential candidates. Five senior teachers whom the state college service commission had offered the principal's post have already refused the job, sources said.

Harimohan Ghose College hit the headlines following the 2013 clash that originated from a dispute over picking up nomination forms for the campus election. The student union is now under Trinamul's control but the academic atmosphere remains far from normal because of frequent disruptions caused by infighting.

Violence rocked the campus again last Saturday when a group of Trinamul Chhatra Parishad members allegedly tried to set up an independent board in violation of rules. Suspected Trinamul supporters assaulted two ABP Ananda journalists who had reached the campus to enquire about the clash.

In the absence of a full-time principal, the college is headed by a teacher-in-charge.

The West Bengal College Service Commission had conducted interviews last April to select principals for 210 state-aided colleges. The commission published a merit list of 150 candidates, based on which counselling was organised so that they could opt for colleges of their choice in accordance with their ranks.

During the counselling sessions, a senior teacher from Rammohan College who ranked No. 29 on the merit list opted for the principal's post at Harimohan Ghose College, only to back out after some time. The teacher informed the commission that he wouldn't be able to take up the assignment, although he denied being scared.

"In the counselling, I had opted for Harimohan Ghose College because I have had a long association with the institute dating back to when I was a member of Calcutta University's undergraduate council. I finally decided not to join because I have been working at Rammohan College for more than 30 years," he told Metro.

Four other teachers who had been offered the job after that said they weren't interested. "We had offered the post to four other candidates. But all of them refused and opted for other colleges," said Dulal Hari Sahoo, secretary of the college service commission.

When contacted by Metro, one of the four candidates said he lived in a neighbourhood from where it would have been convenient for him to commute to and from Harimohan Ghose College. He still refused the offer.

Another teacher who spoke on condition that he wouldn't be named said the only thing worse than a Trinamul versus Opposition battle was a Trinamul versus Trinamul fight. "Who would you go to for help in such a situation?" he said.

Minister Firhad Hakim is the president of the institute's governing body and Speaker Biman Bandopadhyay is one of the members. Local Trinamul leader Ranjit Seal is a member too.

Seal's son had been fatally injured while allegedly making bombs the night before the 2013 incident.

Bijoy Acharya, the teacher-in-charge of Harimohan Ghose, admitted that several teachers had refused to accept the principal's post but denied that unrest was responsible for it.

Minister Hakim was unavailable for comment. He didn't take calls from Metro on Monday evening.