Rabindra Bharati University has allowed the five students arrested for campus vandalism to write exams, triggering allegations that the authorities had backed out of its promise to take “stern action” against them.

Aliur Mandal, the general secretary of the Trinamul-run students’ union on the BT Road campus, on Monday afternoon filled in the form and collected the admit card for the BEd exam following a “special” permission from acting registrar Amit Mukherjee.

Ashikir Rehman and Dhiman Shil, two other accused, did so for the MA Part II exams.

The other two charged with vandalism — Raja Saha and Sashibhanu Sarkar — do not have any exams any time soon.

All five were escorted into the campus by a team from Sinthee police station.

“The five students have been allowed to write exams following orders from vice-chancellor Chinmoy Guha. The VC has exercised his special power to allow them to appear in the exams,” Mukherjee told Metro.

Guha did not attend office on Monday. Repeated calls to his cellphone went unanswered.

A gang led by Aliur had ransacked the rooms of Guha and his secretary, and a conference hall on June 12 to protest the decision to introduce online admission in an attempt to curb irregularities.

The five were picked up following Guha’s call to chief minister Mamata Banerjee and higher education minister Bratya Basu. They were released on bail four days later.

The vice-chancellor had vowed “stern action”against the five, saying: “The disciplinary committee has recommended summary rustication of the accused. The executive council of the university will endorse the recommendation at its June 16 meeting.”

A series of events after Guha’s announcement, however, suggest the authorities had cold feet. First, the July 16 meeting was deferred indefinitely.

On June 18, the five students were allowed to enter the university and supervise the online admission process.

Asked about their presence on the campus and his promise of action against them, Guha had said: “The five were show-caused on June 15. They will have to send their replies by June 22. Action will be taken based on their replies.”

None of the students has replied to the showcause letters.

“The showcause was an indication that the five would finally be let off. Today’s move has only confirmed it. The five should at least have been suspended to set an example,” said a teacher.

“The way the police escorted them to the campus suggests they had been informed in advance that they could write the exams.”

“No one has debarred me from entering the campus,” Aliur said.