Police are scanning footage recorded by CCTV cameras at the intersection of Raja Dinendra Street and Harinath Dey Road in north Calcutta to establish the veracity of a complaint by the principal of Seth Anandram Jaipuria College that he was attacked there on Monday afternoon.

In his complaint with Narkeldanga police station, principal Ashok Mukhopadhyay said two assailants with their faces covered by handkerchiefs sprang out of nowhere and attacked him when his car had stopped at the intersection on his way to college.

An officer at the police station said that the spot where Mukhopadhyay says the incident occurred was about 100 metres from the intersection, where CCTV cameras are installed. While the footage possibly won't nail the alleged attackers, investigators hope to find clues to how the incident unfolded.

"We are scanning the footage minutely to find something that will lead us to the youths mentioned in the complaint. We will be talking to the person who was driving the car," the officer said.

Police sources said Mukhopadhyay mostly takes a taxi from his home in Phoolbagan to Jaipuria College. Monday was an exception. He hired a driver from an agency to take him to the college in his personal car.

The police have questioned student leaders on the campus to ascertain if the faction feud between two groups of the Trinamul Congress Chhatra Parishad (TMCP) had anything to do with the incident.

"In August 2014, TMCP supporters had held him hostage for almost four hours, demanding the names of teachers and non-teaching staff who had lodged a complaint against one of them for assaulting a security guard at the institution. This year too, he has been targeted on several occasions," the officer said.

Classes at Jaipuria College were suspended late last month in the wake of what the authorities described as "horrific violence" involving students.

Principal Mukhopadhyay, who visited the college on Tuesday, said in the evening that the police hadn't yet spoken to him.

He was retained as principal of all three shifts in the college on September 8. Prior to that, he was on leave for three months to recuperate from a serious ailment. The governing body of the college met on Tuesday and condemned the assault on Mukhopadhyay. But the meeting ended abruptly when the principal exited in a huff.

Sources said several governing body members had objected to Mukhopadhyay resuming work as full-fledged principal. They argued that he was yet to submit a fitness certificate.

The principal said he was pained by the governing body questioning his decision to join the college rather than discussing the assault on him.