A police camp that had been set up at a school in Sandeshkhali was withdrawn hours after the state higher secondary council on Tuesday asked the police to vacate the premises of what has been designated as the “main venue” of the school-leaving exams in the region.
The exams start on February 16.
The police camp was set up last Friday at Radharani High School because of a law and order crisis after women in the area alleged that Trinamul Congress leader Shajahan Sheikh and his associates had been harassing them for years.
Dip Barman, the teacher-in-charge of the school, said the police left the campus late on Tuesday.
He said they were worried because the police had taken over all 24 rooms that were to be used for the HS exams. “All the benches had been removed from the 24 rooms,” a school official said.
Barman said on Wednesday evening: “We are bringing the benches back to the classrooms. Some of the tasks are pending because of Saraswati Puja. Everything should be ready by Thursday. After that we will paste roll numbers of the examinees on the benches.”
As many as 739 students from five schools will write their papers at Radharani High School, located in Sandeshkhali block-II in North 24-Parganas, around 74km from Kolkata.
Since it has been named a main venue, council officials will coordinate with sub-venues in the region from Radharani High School.
“I have informed the council that the police have left the school and we have taken steps to ensure that the HS exams are held here,” the teacher-in-charge said.