Agitating engineering college students gherao principal

Agitating students of the Jalpaiguri Government Engineering College (JGEC) have gheraoed the principal since yesterday following which he was taken ill, a college official said today.

Principal Amitava Roy has fallen ill and doctors recommended hospitalisation, but the students refused to take him to hospital and said he be treated at his office, said the official who does not want to be quoted.

Roy has been treated at his chamber, he said.

The JCEC authorities also directed all the male students of the 2nd year to vacate the hostel but they were yet to do it.

The students, mainly of the second year, were demanding action against a Computer Science teacher alleging that he had beaten up two second-year students on Thursday evening after they had an altercation with some first-year students, the official said.

The agitating students and the authorities held talks but it did not yield any result yesterday. Since then the students were on dharna and did not let the principal and other senior official leave the college.

However, they allowed them to leave early today. While others went home, the principal did not, the official said.

Police said they were ready to maintain law and order. A group of policemen were there in the college.