Father of harassed JU girl says no need for VC to resign

In a dramatic twist to the Jadavpur University student unrest, the father of the girl who was allegedly sexually harassed inside the university campus today said there was no need for the VC to resign and students should call off their agitation as the state has formed a probe committee.

The agitating students, however, remained defiant and vowed to continued their class boycott and protest. TMCP, the Trinamool Congress student's wing, and the YUVA took out a rally in the city today in an effort to deliver a response to last Saturday's massive demonstration by students, alleging that it was all a game plan of the Left and the Maoists to malign the state government.

The father of the victim, who met Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee during the day, said that the students should call off their boycott and there was no need for the VC to resign as the state government has assured an impartial probe into the incident. "I met the chief minister and she assured me that justice will be done to my daughter," the father of the girl, who also took part in today's rally, said.

He had last Friday held the V-C responsible for the impasse in the university. Education minister Partha Chatterjee and the TMCP state president Sankudeb Panda visited the victim's house yesterday. Chatterjee announced a five-member committee headed by Calcutta University V-C Suranjan Das to investigate into the alleged sexual harassment of a girl student.

"The committee will try to submit its report as soon as possible. It has been asked to submit report within 72 hours, if possible" the minister said. The university authorities appealed to the students who remained adamant on their class boycott till the V C resigned, to maintain normalcy and resume classes.

"We have given a notice to all departments of the university, annexing the high court order. We appeal to all to maintain normalcy," JU registrar Pradip Ghosh told newspersons here. The registrar said he would request the police authorities to see that the students, who were arrested, were not affected. "We want that their careers are not affected."

A representative of the agitating students said after a meeting, "We will continue with our agitation until the V-C steps down. We will continue with our academic strike. If he tries to enter the university, the students will not allow him."

Referring to the statement of the victim's father, he said, "He (girl's father) can make a volte face. Justice to the victim was one of our demands. But this agitation is now against the brutal assault by the police on the students under V C's instruction". They also announced a citizen's convention inside the campus on Wednesday and a march to Lalbazar, the Kolkata Police headquarters, on Thursday.

Meanwhile, TMC MP Abhishek Banerjee courted a controversy by wondering whether the student protests were triggered by a ban on drugs and liquor inside campus. "Is this protest due to the banning of drugs, liquor and charas?" Abhishek said in a Face book post which drew sharp reactions from intellectuals and students community. Later in the day Abhishek said his party was not against students' community but against the hooliganism inside the campus.

Abhishek's words found its echo in the rally where TMCP state president Sankudeb Panda in an obvious reference to agitating students said, "Why are you protesting to malign the state government? Is it due to the ban on drugs and charas inside the campus. Is there a CPI(M)-Maoist hand behind all this."