I feared for my life: Jadavpur University Vice-Chancellor

Kolkata, Sep 17:

University Vice Chancellor Abhijit Chakrabarti, who was rescued by the police after being held hostage by students, today said he feared that he would have been killed had the police not come.

"I would have died at their hands had the police not come. They were attacking us and I fear we would have been killed," Chakrabarti told reporters. Recalling the harrowing time they had in the campus since yesterday, he said that they had no other option but to call the police to rescue him, registrar Pradip Ghosh and other members of the executive council.

The VC said he saw the students hurling abuses at him and he felt sick after being not allowed to leave office after 4 PM.

"We told them to let us go but they did not relent and so I was forced to call police. When the police took me out of the office I saw students trying to attack me," Chakrabarti said.

The students had gheraoed them demanding that two external members be included into the committee that is investigating the alleged molestation of a girl student.

The VC said the committee was formed as per the guidelines of the Supreme Court. Students on the other hand alleged that the police manhandled them and even molested girl students who were protesting. They said they will take out a protest march against the incident in the evening.

The VC and Registrar were freed in the early hours today by a strong contingent of police force which arrested 35 students.

PTI