Sikkim suspends high officials for action against students

Former Sikkim director of higher education, the principal of Sikkim Government College, the East district superintendent of police and a police officer were suspended today for their failure in handling the students' protest here last month against college fee hike.
The four are the then Director of Higher Education Deepa Basnet, Tadong college principal M P Kharel, the then East district SP Manoj Tewari and Sadar station house officer (SHO) S R Shenga, Department of Personnel Secretary A K Chettri said.
Their suspension followed the recommendations by the one-man committee of Land Revenue Secretary C T Wangdi instituted to inquire into the students' protest against near four-fold hike in the college fees and subsequent police action on them on July 14, he said.

Basnet and Tewari had been transferred immediately after the incident.
The committee, which submitted its report on August 2, in its report said the government was 'clearly convinced' that the situation was mishandled and that individual failures, disinterest and overreaction contributed to a systemic failure which led a "manageable and justified" protest by students to snowball into "the anarchic free-for-all."
The lathicharge of July 14 could have been avoided if the district administration had been more sensible and mature in handling the situation, the report said.
The college students have welcomed the decision on the suspension and have thanked the state government and the committee for its "impartial report'.