Kolkata: The Jadavpur University stalemate continued for the fourth day in a row on Saturday, with thousands of students holding a protest rally in the city demanding the removal of Vice-Chancellor Abhijit Chakraborty over the police atrocity in the campus.
“He has to apologise and resign with immediate effect. He had earlier refused to call in the police to investigate the molestation of the girl. But he had called the force to rough up the students just because they were demanding a proper investigation into the incident. He has to go or we will boycott classes,” said Sinjini Pal, a student of the engineering department of the university.
The police allegedly cracked down on students on Wednesday night following a requisition from Chakraborty to lift a cordon that the students had thrown around him and some senior professors. Several students and policemen were injured and 35 students were arrested. Chakraborty later claimed that he could have been killed had the cops not turn up to his rescue.
The rally started at the Academy of Fine Arts with thousands of students not only from Jadavpur University but also from other colleges marching towards the Raj Bhawan (Governor’s House), braving the incessant rain, where the students meet the governor, Kesharinath Tripathi with their demands. The governor has been proactive in the entire incident and called up the police commissioner on Friday evening to get his point of view.
The students are looking to ramp up pressure, buoyed by huge support from civil society cutting across political affiliations. University teachers also largely support them. The head of the philosophy department, Soumitro Basu, has resigned citing moral compulsions. This is deemed as a strategy to further put pressure on the vice-chancellor.
Former students and professors who joined the rally in solidarity with the student said: “It is reported that he had told the victim’s father that calling the police to investigate the charge of molestation would damage the reputation of the university. Didn’t he think that calling the police to break a lawful demand of the students would be equally damaging?” asked a former vice-chancellor, who joined the rally.
Other claim that Chakraborty had done so to remain in the good books of the state government and ensure that he becomes a permanent employee. “He has lost all his credibility. It is the primary duty of the head of the university to ensure safety of the students where he has certainly failed,” said Pinaki Sen, a former student and now a professor at Calcutta University.
The challenge for the students now is to keep the apolitical nature of the movement alive, something even the organisers of the movement have urged for on their social networking sites.
“We are certainly grateful to everyone who has joined the rally today in support of the cause. This is not against any political party but against the university administration which has failed to provide safety and security of the students. Request one and all not to politicize the issue,” said Sambit Roy, a student at the forefront of the movement.
