Jadavpur varsity's vice chancellor held hostage

The vice chancellor, pro-vice chancellor and some administrative staff of West Bengal's Jadavpur University have been locked inside their offices since Wednesday by students protesting against the suspension of two of their colleagues for ragging.

The students from the engineering and humanities departments of the university started the agitation Wednesday afternoon and camped outside the office all night.

Registrar Pradip Kumar Ghosh told IANS Thursday: "The students have been shouting slogans and boycotted classes. They are demanding that the two accused (for ragging) be let off. But the anti-ragging committee probing the matter has found them guilty...so we can't do anything now."

The two students were suspended Sep 11 after a complaint filed by a second year engineering student to the University Grants Commission (UGC) last month, who was allegedly beaten up.

A final year student of construction engineering was suspended for two semesters, and a fourth year student of the printing technology department was handed a one-semester suspension.

During the suspension period, the two students would not be allowed to stay in the hostel where the incident occurred, said Ghosh.

"We had issued a show cause notice...the suspension will come into effect very soon. We will negotiate and discuss with the angry students," said Ghosh.

The UGC forwarded the complaint to the university authorities, who constituted a probe panel which found the duo students guilty.

The students however claim the ragging was "an internal disciplinary ritual".

-- Indo Asian News Service

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