2 arrested 10 days after VBU student suicide
On 5 September, Anamika Singh, a third year student of Shilpa Sadan and a resident of Varanasi in Uttar Pradesh had allegedly consumed poison in the Amrapali Girls Hostel in Santiniketan.
Three senior Trinamul Congress leaders for the first time came out in support of Nobel laureate Amartya Sen in the ongoing land dispute issue after a desperate Visva-Bharati University (VBU) issued a second notification urging returning a portion of the land.
KMC mayor and state municipal affairs and urban development minister Firhad Hakim, who is also the party observer of Birbhum district, veteran MP Sukhendu Sekhar Roy and Birbhum MP Shatabdi Roy, all came out openly criticising VBU vice-chancellor professor Bidyut Chakraborty. “Is it the job of a vicechancellor to measure land? I am unable to understand why this VC is interested in all other issues except improving the educational standards of the central varsity,” said Sukhendu Sekhar Roy.
“The claim of the VBU vice-chancellor that Amartya Sen has not received a Nobel Prize seems ridiculous. I think this VC has lost his mental stability and should be removed immediately,” said Mr Hakim. Shatabdi Roy said that everybody is laughing after the latest comment of the VC about the Nobel claim. “We are proud of Dr Amartya Sen as an economist and our CM Mamata Banerjee has also criticised the move of VBU earlier several times and the entire party and the state government is beside him,” added Roy.
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Students of VBU said that very soon the tenure of the present vice-chancellor will be over and Professor Bidyut Chakraborty is deliberately picking up such controversies to get a fresh extension. Neither Amartya Sen nor his colleague and economist, Jean Dreze has given any reactions when asked about the fresh allegations of the VC, both refused to say anything and smiled.
Meanwhile, the joint registrar of the estate department of VBU has issued a fresh notification to Mr Sen. In the past four days the VBU has served him notices twice seeking return of the 13 decimal of land and has offered joint inspections.
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