Tensions escalate at NB Med College over cricket match screening

Siliguri: Tensions erupted at North Bengal Medical College and Hospital (NBMCH) as interns staged a protest following the issuance of a show-cause notice to Dr Sunny Manna, an intern accused by the Dean of screening a cricket match in the institution’s Lecture Theatre (LT) 400 without proper authorisation.

On Wednesday, the show-cause letter was posted on the college’s notice board. The letter questioned who had authorised Dr Manna to open the LT for the screening. However, Dr Manna and other interns have disputed the accusations. According to them, Dr Manna did not personally arrange the screening. The interns claim that a formal request was submitted to the Dean on March 7 to seek permission for the screening but when there was no response, the matter was escalated to the college’s principal. The principal allegedly gave verbal approval for the match screening over the phone. “I did not open the LT room. The principal himself gave verbal permission. So why am I the only one being held accountable?” said Dr Manna during the protest.

In response, Dean Anupam Nath Gupta said: “College’s lecture theatres are meant solely for educational purposes and no permission was granted for screening the match. I simply asked Dr Manna who authorised the screening.”

The situation intensified when a group of students attempted to mediate and calm the protest. However, their intervention led to an altercation between the students protesting the show-cause notice and those trying to resolve the issue. The altercation escalated into a scuffle, further exacerbating the unrest on campus.

The protest escalated again when the interns blocked the vehicle of the Dean as she was about to leave the college premises. There, they sat in front of the vehicle and continued protesting. During the protest, the two students’ wings again started an altercation and some students were injured. Later, the police from the Medical Outpost arrived at the scene and safely escorted the Dean out of the hospital.

Dr Shahadad Islam, a fellow medical student, said: “We do not want to surround the authorities and protest over small issues. We wanted to calm the movement but there is a group that seems intent on creating unrest, which we do not want.”