Malda, July 30: Around 300 Chhatra Parishad and SFI supporters today confined the principal of Malda College to his chamber from 11am demanding the admission of 200 students from Manikchak in the first-year undergraduate courses. At around 8.30pm the gherao was still on.

“Where should the boys and girls from Manikchak go? The college must arrange their admission. Otherwise, we shall stop classes,” said Samiran Mondal the SFI unit secretary of the college.

Students from Manikchak have to travel 35km to reach Malda College. If they do not get admission here they will have to travel 5km more to reach Gour College.

Around eight policemen arrived at the college around noon after news of the gherao spread but the police did not intervene saying the college authorities did not ask them to. “My men are there to maintain law and order. The police will intervene as and when the principal asks us to free him,” said the district superintendent of police, Jayanta Pal.

Aniruddha Sengupta, the principal of the college said 2900 students had already been admitted to the college against the 700seats meant for honours courses and 990 for pass courses. “A line has to be drawn. How can I admit all the students who seek admission and how do I manage additional classrooms? The students must talk sense,” the principal said.

The 200 students whose admission the unions were demanding do not figure in any merit list for admissions.

The students belonging to the Chhatra Parishad and Trinamul Chhatra Parishad had ransacked the principal’s chamber and confined him till late night on July 11 over the same demand. “The college authorities had given us their word that they would consider the cases of the 200 students who are seeking admission. They did keep their word and we had to resort to such an agitation,” said Kousik Ghosh, the unit secretary of Chhatra Parishad.

District magistrate Archana said she had asked the additional DM to visit the college.

Raiganj college

North Bengal University authorities today said the appointment of Debasis Biswas as the teacher in charge of Raiganj College would stand.

Vice-chancellor Samir Kumar Das made the announcement at a meeting held in NBU. Teachers and employees of the college had said the college executive council had ignored 15 senior teachers while appointing Biswas.