ED to probe source of money used to gather mob

Kolkata: The Enforcement Directorate will probe into the source of money that was spent to mobilise the mob that pulled down the boundary wall being constructed at the Pous Mela ground of Visva Bharati on Monday.

On Wednesday, the ED sent letters to Vice-Chancellor of Visva Bharati Professor Bidyut Chakraborty; Virendra, Director General of Police and Shyam Singh, Superintendent of Police, Birbhum informing them about the inquiry.

Meanwhile, Prof Chakraborty skipped the meeting called by the District Magistrate at the office of the sub-divisional officer, Bolpur. The 12-hour fast called by him to protest against the pulling down of the boundary wall was withdrawn on Wednesday as it would flout the lockdown norms. The Birbhum district administration has already filed an FIR against Chakraborty for holding a rally on Tuesday at the VB campus which had disregarded the lockdown protocol.

In a press note issued on Wednesday, the VB authorities said the V-C could not attend the meeting because of his busy schedule and the District Magistrate should have spoken to him before fixing the date and time of the same. Also, the authorities want the district administration to hold the meeting at the VB campus. It may be mentioned that the authorities have demanded a CBI inquiry into the incident where thousands of people had assembled at the Pous Mela ground and pulled down the boundary wall which the VB was constructing.

The meeting was attended by the Superintendent of Police, representatives of the local residents and those of the ashramites.

Asit Mal, Trinamool Congress MP, said the attitude of the Visva Bharati authorities had clearly indicated that they did not want to restore peace. He reiterated that Monday's incident could have been avoided had the V-C spoken to the local businessmen, residents and police before going ahead with the construction of the wall.

The students of the varsity alleged that by citing the incident, the V-C will request the Union Home ministry to deploy Central Forces at the campus for security.

Teachers' and students' bodies of Visva Bharati on Wednesday condemned the violence that rocked the campus.

Visva-Bharati University Faculty Association (VBUFA) said it was in favour of discussions with all the stakeholders before any crucial decision is taken by the authorities.