Five students go on relay hunger strike in BESU

Howrah, Apr 3 (UNI) Five students of the Bengal Engineering and Science University(BESU) today initiated a relay hunger strike to demand withdrawal of all legal cases against students and removal of police from the campus premises.

Students Union sources said their other demands included immediate holding of the union elections, initiating legal action against those responsible for the violence on the campus and deployment of adequate private security personnel on the campus to ensure students' safety.

University authorities said withdrawal of the legal cases filed against the students was not possible as that could be sorted out only after concluding all the legal procedures properly.

However, the authorities assured the students that the police forces would be removed from the campus in a phased manner and union elections conducted within the next one-two months.

Besides, a committee, headed by former Vice-Chancellor(VC) of the university Parshomoni Chatterjee, was appointed to probe into the violence in the campus premises and identify the culprits, university authorities added.

Earlier, VC Mihir Ranjan Bannerjee held discussions with all the first year students yesterday where their demands were placed before the university authorities.

The VC also held a meeting with all the Heads of Departments, superintendents and union secretaries on April 1, where it was decided to hold talks with all the students in a phased manner to restore normality on the campus.

Meanwhile, a secret ballot was on among the Bengal Engineering and Science University Teachers Association (BESUTA) members to express their disapproval against the VC.

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