Police register case against college principal

A case was registered under SC/ST Prevention of Atrocities Act against Principal of a private law college, where the students are on strike since the past 20 days, demanding her resignation.
The case against the Principal Lakshmi Nair has been registered under Sect 31 (s) of the SC/ST Prevention of Atrocities Act, which was a non-bailable offence, police said.
The case was registered on a complaint of harassment by some students for calling them by their caste names.
A group of Students of the Kerala Law Academy Law College, a private management institution, are on a war path since the past 20 days protesting against the alleged harassment and demanding the removal of the Principal, who is the daughter of a close relative of a former CPI(M) MLA.

Congress today decided to sharpen their attack against the college authorities by demanding the immediate resignation of the Principal.
KPCC President V M Sudheeran said in the wake of the Kerala university syndicate debarring the principal for five years from examination duties and internal assessment, there was no other option left for her, but to resign.

Alleging that the impasse over the issue was continuing due to the CPI(M)'s intervention, he said the Marxist party should not create any hurdles on the matter concerning the students agitation.
"The Principal should resign and government should be prepared to make her resign. The affiliation of the college should be withdrawn and government should take it over", he told reporters here.

Former KPCC President, K Muraleedharan said if the government fails to find a solution to the issue within 48 hours, he would launch an indefinite hunger strike.
BJP National Executive member, V Muraleedharan, is on an indefinite hunger strike in front of the college since Jan 20 in support of the demands of the students.
The ruling CPI(M), which has so far given a cold shoulder to the agitation, has said the strike by students should not be politicised.
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Meanwhile, CPI-M veteran V S Achuthanandan said Academy was assigned land by the government for educational purposes.
The government should recover those stretches of land which is used by the Academy for purposes other than education and properties in it, he said in a letter to State Revenue Minister E Chandrasekharan.

Government should examine whether the land was assigned to the Trust that runs the Academy and whether they were using it for purposes other than it was allotted at Peroorkada near here, the former Chief Minister said.
Besides, the government should also examine the legal aspects of the construction of flats by joining hands with a private realtors at the land allotted to the Academy at Poonam road near to state secretariat in the city.
"All aspects connected with land utilisation of the academy should be subjected to a through examination", Achuthanandan added.