Mamata Assures Action over Varsity Officials Assault

Kolkata, Feb 19 (IANS) West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee Thursday assured strong action over the assault of two university officials in Nadia district, while the opposition Left Front sought the intervention of Governor K.N. Tripathi.

Strongly condemning the incident that took place Tuesday at the Kalyani University, Banerjee said there was no place for violence and called for discussions to resolve matters.

"I strongly condemn whatever happened in Kalyani. We don't support it. There is no place for violence. We will take serious action. Already five people have been arrested for the violence," Banerjee told media persons here.

"There is nothing that cannot be solved by talks. We never endorse violence and we will take necessary steps to ensure that the guilty are punished. My government is known for taking action. There is not a single case where we haven't taken action," she said.

The incident occurred when students and some employees demanding the removal of vice chancellor Rattan Lal Hangloo went on a rampage assaulting estate in-charge Pratap Santra and admission committee chairperson Sujata Chowdhury.

The agitators also ransacked offices, damaging CCTV cameras and furniture.

TV grabs showed a woman tugging at the saree of botany professor Sujata Chaudhuri, who was then beaten up. The same woman was videotaped dragging Santra from his desk and beating him mercilessly.

The Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPI-M) led Left Front has called the incident a result of factional feud within the ruling Trinamool Congress.

"It is very unfortunate that Education Minister Partha Chatterjee held a meeting with those involved in the incident. He knows there are two factions of his party, both of which want to control the university. The incident is a result of that," Leader of Opposition Surjya Kanta Mishra said.

"Those involved in the incident should be punished irrespective of their political identities. The governor, also the chancellor of the university, should take steps to solve it," Mishra added.