Students greet Biswas with flowers after he took over as the teacher-in-charge of Raiganj College on Friday. Picture by Nantu Dey

Raiganj, July 27: The teachers’ council of Raiganj College will write to the North Bengal University pointing out that the new teacher in-charge has been appointed ignoring at least 15 other teachers who are senior than him.

Debasis Biswas, a teacher in the economics department of the college, joined as the teacher-in-charge this morning.

Shatrughan Sinha had been appointed the teacher-in-charge on January 8 after Dilip Dey Sarkar — who had been heckled by Trinamul Congress Chhatra Parishad supporters on January 5 on the college premises — resigned.

The vice chancellor of NBU had convened an emergency meeting of the college advisory committee on January 8 and offered the post to the senior-most teacher of the college.

According to official sources, when the senior most teacher of the college and 10 other senior teachers declined the offer, Sinha was appointed as the teacher-in-charge for six months.

His term expired on July 8. But he was asked by the university to carry on till a new appointment was given.

When Biswas took over today, students of the college greeted him. But the members of the teachers’ council and the non-teaching employees’ association refrained from doing so.

Although Biswas has been teaching in the college for over 10 years, he is junior to at least 15 teachers in the institution.

Secretary of the teachers’ council Milan Roy said according to the university guidelines, the senior most teacher in the college should be offered the post of a teacher- in-charge.

“In case the senior most candidate refuses, it should go to the next senior candidate. But Biswas was offered the chair by superseding 15 others. The university authorities did not even check with them (other senior teachers) if they were willing to accept the job,” Roy said.

He added that they would raise the issue in the next meeting of the council and write to the university authorities.

Spokesperson of the non-teaching employees’ association of Raiganj College Tapan Nag said the appointment of Biswas had “violated the norm of the university” and was “highly unethical.”

Nag accused Biswas of heckling Dilip Dey Sarkar.

According to Nag, Biswas, who was the secretary of the teachers’ council in 2010, had threatened the then teacher-in-charge Achyutmohan Roy Chowdhury with dire consequences during an argument at a meeting. “We are worried and shocked that a person with such a bad reputation has been appointed the head of the institution,” Nag said.

Debasis Biswas denied all charges. “There is no reason to be scared of me unless one is corrupt and does not do his duties,” he said.