Students on hunger strike demand removal of Bishop

Barrackpore, Sep 2 (UNI) Defying threats of disciplinary action and vacating notice, all the theology students of Evangelical Church of India college at Ganganagar in North 24 Parganas continued their hunger strike for the sixth day today demanding removal of a bishop of the college.

A visiting four-member team of executives from the church headquarters in Chennai, made its abortive attempt to restore normalcy of the college asking the students to withdraw hunger strike and issued a 24-hour ultimatum to the students to leave the college.

Altogether 130 students, both girls and boys of graduate and post graduate levels live in the church hostel at the college complex.

The students resorted to hunger strike demanding removal of teacher-bishop Suresh Rajan, who had allegedly assaulted a first year student Benjamin Sole, who was admitted to a nearby Madhyamgram Municipal Hospital on August 27 last.

The visiting church executives expressed their inability to take any action against Rev Rajan saying they would report to the church authorities about their demand. But the students decided to continue their strike till their demands were met.

One of the visiting executives, however, returned to the headquarters today to convey the state of affairs so that the church authorities could solve the impasse.

However, no untoward incident was reported so far though a few students fell sick following indefinite fast.

UNI