Kolkata College Vice-Principal says students forced her to resign, ABVP 'Purified' her office

Mohammadi Tarannum, vice-principal and teacher-in-charge of Kolkata's Surendranath College, has alleged that students forced her to sign a resignation letter after keeping her confined in her office for around 23 hours.

Tarannum, who has taught for 25 years and held her current position since September 2007, said the students drafted the resignation letter and pressured her to sign it. She later emailed the government from her car, saying she had signed it under pressure, and publicly repudiated the letter on September 12.

After she left the college under police protection, a group of students led by the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad entered her chamber, lit incense sticks and sprinkled Ganga water, saying they were “purifying” the room.

The dispute centres on attendance. Law students need at least 65% attendance to appear for their semester examinations, and a section of students did not meet the requirement. The eighth-semester examinations are scheduled for September 29.

ABVP college leader Sambit Das said the organisation wanted Tarannum's resignation and remained firm on the demand. However, fourth-year student Rajat Agar denied Tarannum's allegation that she was pressured.

The college governing body is headed by BJP MLA Kaustav Bagchi, who said students had submitted complaints against Tarannum and that he had forwarded them to the Higher Education Department.

The authority has not clarified whether Tarannum's resignation letter is valid. Teachers are currently holding classes on Sundays to help students meet the 65% attendance requirement before the September 29 examinations. Tarannum has also been arranging these classes with Calcutta University, saying she does not want students to suffer.  (with inputs from media organisation)