The officiating vice-chancellor of Jadavpur University was confined to his car for several hours by a section of students who demanded that an all-stakeholder meeting be called to discuss anti-ragging measures.
Buddhadeb Sau was allowed to step out of the car and return to his office around 6pm after registrar Snehamanju Basu issued a notice stating that such a meeting would be held on September 26.
VC Sau was gheraoed as he did not want to meet the students who assembled in his office on Friday afternoon.
As Sau left his office, telling the students they should meet pro-vice-chancellor Amitava Datta as he had been authorised to speak to the students on this issue, the students chased him and stood before his car.
Sau was heading to a meeting.
The students accused the VC of avoiding the students intentionally.
Barsa Garai, who is a member of the All India Students’ Association (AISA), said: “The VC told us that he would be holding an all-stakeholder meeting with us to discuss certain issues which include CCTV and other measures. When we went to his office, he declined to meet.”
A first-year student was allegedly killed by senior students in the university's main hostel last month.
Many see such protests and demand for meetings as a tactic to stall anti-ragging measures in the wake of the tragedy.
On Friday, Sau got into an argument with the students as he remained confined to his car in front of the Aurobindo Bhavan.
He was heard saying: “When I have formed a committee under the chairmanship of pro-VC Datta to discuss the issue with you, why are you detaining me? Let me go”.
Pro-VC Datta reached the spot and tried to control the situation. The students did not relent until they extracted the notice on the September 26 meeting.
The protest took place around the time a Webel Technology team came to the university for a survey of the locations where CCTV cameras would be installed.
“I tried to reason with the students, but they did not want to listen. We had to issue the notice...,” Sau told Metro.