Visva-Bharati V-C accuses protesting TMC leaders of threatening to kill him

Visva-Bharati Vice Chancellor Bidyut Chakrabarty has lodged a complaint with the police, alleging that he received life threats from Trinamool Congress leaders who have been protesting outside the central varsity's campus in Santiniketan over the plaque row, a senior officer said on Tuesday.

The VC emailed his complaint to the Santiniketan Police Station in West Bengal's Birbhum district on Monday, he said.

Since October 27, workers of the ruling Trinamool Congress have been protesting outside the university campus, demanding the removal of the plaques on UNESCO World Heritage site status to Santiniketan for not bearing the name of Visva-Bharati founder Rabindranath Tagore.

"The VC has sent a letter to us alleging that he has received life threats from some people who are staging a protest outside the university campus. We are looking into his complaint," the officer told PTI.

Chakrabarty, in his complaint, has accused TMC leaders of threatening to kill him and he is scared about his life.

"The VC has urged us to look into the security issue," the police officer said.

Local TMC leader Jamshed Ali Khan, who has been participating in the protest, rejected the allegations.

"The sit-in programme is going on outside the campus of Vishva-Bharati. During the protest, bauls have been singing and Rabindra sangeet is being sung by others. The VC is worried about the movement."

Local MLA and state minister Chandranath Sinha told PTI that the VC was "trying to cook up stories in order to hide his follies".

"We are protesting peacefully on the instructions of the chief minister. Now, the VC will do several things to cover up his mistakes," he told PTI.

West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Monday demanded the removal of the "insulting plaques" that omit the name of Rabindranath Tagore from Visva Bharati's stone tablets commemorating UNESCO's award of World Heritage Site to the Santiniketan-based university.

The Visva-Bharati vice chancellor had on Sunday said work was underway to "prepare" a plaque retaining UNESCO's declaration of Santiniketan as a world heritage site and in adherence to Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) guidelines.