Police have sought detailed information from Ashutosh College about applicants who allegedly received calls offering admission in exchange for money, days after the college reported a suspected data breach in the centralised admission portal run by the state higher education department.

College sources said a complaint was lodged last week naming 12 undergraduate applicants and listing at least two mobile numbers from which the calls had come. The callers allegedly promised admission through a “management quota”.

“The names and contact details of these applicants have been shared with the police,” a college official said. “We also have information about two numbers reported by applicants.”

The calls, allegedly from unknown persons who may have accessed applicant data, were made over the past two weeks.

On Monday evening, a team from Bhowanipore police station visited the college’s Hazra campus and met principal Manas Kabi after receiving the complaint.

A senior officer at Lalbazar, the Kolkata Police headquarters, said they were considering formally writing to the college to obtain a more detailed report.

“Merely getting phone numbers or names is not enough. We need specific information and a formal complaint to draw up a case,” the officer said. “We are hoping to get the phone numbers and complainant details to trace the source of the calls.”

The college principal has submitted a written communication to the police, alleging a possible breach of the centralised database through which all undergraduate applications were filed this year.

The allegations surfaced just as undergraduate admissions resumed across Bengal through the higher education department’s centralised online portal, following a legal tussle over a revised OBC list that had held up the process.Many fear the incident could further delay admissions.On Tuesday, Kabi declined to comment. “I have told the police what I had to share. I have nothing more to add,” he said.

The centralised admission portal opened on August 22, more than a month behind schedule. It resumed after the Supreme Court stayed a Calcutta High Court order blocking OBC admissions.

The first merit list was published hours after the stay. Classes for students admitted in the first round began on August 29.