PhD Inquiry Committee chairman resigns after alleged student harassment at JU

Kolkata: The ongoing turmoil at Jadavpur University (JU) escalated on Tuesday as retired Justice Pranab Kumar Chattopadhyay, the chairman of the committee investigating alleged irregularities in Ph.D. admissions within the International Relations (IR) department and the School of International Relations and Strategic Studies, resigned, citing harassment by students.

The incident occurred on Monday following a committee meeting, where Justice Chattopadhyay was allegedly subjected to harassment and misbehaviour by a group of students.

In a letter to the Vice-Chancellor, he expressed his inability to continue due to the “repeated unwanted harassing behaviour of a section of students.”

He also alleged that the “teachers present therein refused to extend any help and cooperation to rescue me from the humiliation and/or insulting atmosphere.”

Sources reported that a professor from the IR department and another from the Mathematics department were present at the meeting.

Meanwhile, tensions on campus reached a boiling point as a clash erupted between students from the SFI and Forum for Arts and DSF over postering.

The altercation, which began on Monday evening, escalated into physical violence on Tuesday.

The Jadavpur University Teachers’ Association (JUTA) also voiced concerns over the recent marks fiasco in the Journalism and Mass Communication department, criticising the university’s handling of the issue. In light of the situation, JUTA has called for the evaluation of answer scripts by external examiners.