Nomination filing: Students’ clashes continue in state

Clash among the contesting students over the submission of nominations for the forthcoming students’ body election continued on Tuesday. Some students from Hooghly’s Shrirampur College clashed among themselves over the issue of submission of nominations for the upcoming elections. At least 16 students were injured after the incident.

It should be recalled that a similar incident happened at Siliguri College and Nakshalbari College on Monday, where at least 30 students were injured. The police found allegations and counter allegations from the contesting students’ organisation.

State Education minister Partha Chatterjee, however, warned on Monday that no unlawful activities will be allowed within college campuses during the process of submitting nominations and elections.

There were some incidents of student clash reported on Monday and Tuesday. State Education department kept a close vigil on the situation. Clashes broke out in different colleges of South and North Bengal and even in colleges under university of Calcutta. Different student organisations are reportedly fighting with each other. Many students were reportedly injured while the process of submitting nomination was still going on.

Chatterjee further said that the officers of Education department and police gave him information. “Some outside elements are trying to enter the college campuses during the nomination filing,” The minister said on Monday, adding, that the college authority will take stringent actions.

However it should be recalled that the state government announced the date of polling a couple of months earlier. Most of the college will have its new student representatives at the end of January.

On January 3, a few miscreants had shot several rounds of bullets at Mathabhanga College during the filling of nominations. Some students allegedly torched a car outside the college campus. Later, a clash had broken out between two groups.

“Miscreants who veiled their faces with black cloths shot several times, but no bullets hit the target properly. Later they decamped from the spot,” said a college staff.

Tension also broke out at Cooch Behar’s Acharya Brojendra Nath Seal College. Many students alleged that some outsiders blank fired at college campus. But the police declined the allegation saying, no such firing incident took place there.

“Two groups of students started fighting while they were filling nomination for coming student elections. But they fought with bare hands without any weapon,” a police officer said.

However, the state government has already arranged adequate security measures for the college elections end of this month. “We’ll not tolerate misconduct in elections. The elections will be free and fare. The police will take stringent action against offenders who would break rules in campus during election,” Education minister Partha Chatterjee had said.