State’s intervention likely to resolve Maoist inmate’s PhD admission

Kolkata: The state government’s intervention is likely to clear the logjam over Maoist inmate Arnab Dam’s admission to the PhD programme in History at the University of Burdwan very soon.

“The university authorities have sought some information regarding Dam and we will furnish all the information along with a declaration that we have no objection to his pursuit of PhD latest by Thursday night. We are committed to extending all possible support to him for his higher studies,” said Akhil Giri, Minister-in-Charge of Correctional Administration.

Giri said that the university authorities will also be informed that providing security to Dam will be the responsibility of the department.

“We are planning to shift him to Burdwan Central Correctional Home from Hooghly District Correctional Home to facilitate his PhD study,” he added. Trinamool leader Kunal Ghosh in a post on his X handle said that Dam should be allowed to pursue his PhD as he has proved himself.

“I have spoken with the state Education minister and the state Correctional Administration minister and both of them will extend assistance. The Vice-Chancellor has been unnecessarily creating confusion,” Ghosh wrote in his X handle.

University of Burdwan has postponed its merit-based counselling for admission to the PhD programme in History citing ‘unavoidable circumstances’ on Tuesday which was the scheduled date for PhD admission in the varsity.

Arnab Dam, a Maoist inmate presently serving a life sentence at Hooghly District Correctional Home was one of the candidates of the merit-based counselling.

He secured the first rank in the interview process for PhD conducted at the university a few days ago. The university has a six-month course for PhD which is done in offline mode.

They sought a report from the Superintendent of the Correctional Home where he is lodged about the security aspect of the candidate needing to come physically.

The Superintendent forwarded the same to the Correctional Administration department.Dam was arrested in connection with a Maoist attack at the Silda camp of the Eastern Frontier Rifles in 2012 from Balarampur in Purulia and has been lodged in prison since then. He was sentenced to life imprisonment in February 2023.

Dam has done his bachelor’s and master’s degrees in History from IGNOU from the correctional home and secured first division in both.

According to sources, Dam has started a token hunger strike with the demand of allowing him to pursue PhD in the correctional home.