A retired engineer who had graduated from BE College in Shibpur (now IIEST) almost four decades back returned to his alma mater on Thursday evening to join a protest against the atrocities on Jawaharlal Nehru University students.

“I was so proud to learn that students of my alma mater have organised a protest rally against the attack on JNU. I saw footage of the atrocities by masked goons. I could not remain quiet after I learnt from a WhatsApp group that my institute was organising a protest march,” said Anjan Mukherjee, an electrical engineer who had graduated in 1980.

“I think no one can stay aloof from what is going on. This government is not being able to give jobs and shifting the focus to divisive acts to hide their failures. When the students are challenging them, they are unleashing attacks. This cannot be tolerated,” the Salt Lake resident said.

Mukherjee, who has retired from Bharat Heavy Electricals Limited as executive director in 2018, was walking in a protest rally for the first time.

“Earlier, I walked in rallies for blood donation camps,” he said. In his days on the campus, Mukherjee was actively associated with student politics. “In our time Shibpur was a politically vibrant campus. I am glad to learn that the campus has not lost its touch yet,” he said.

Mukherjee was seen explaining to curious bystanders what the rally was about.