The students of Calcutta Medical College and Hospital (CMCH) on Monday marched to Dharmatala calling on the health and government officials after principal Ujjwal Kumar Bhadra allegedly remained indifferent to their demands of hostel accommodation despite repeated pleas.

More than 300 students came in support of CMCH students. The CMCH students were joined by their counterparts from Jadavpur University, SSKM, Presidency University and Calcutta University along with representatives from civil rights organisation and West Bengal Doctors’ Forum. They condemned the principal’s motive and demanded his resignation on Monday.

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The protesters bore placards stating: “We do not want a politically paralysed person as our principal.” The demonstration march started around 5 in the evening from the college campus. “CMCH is witnessing political terrorism at present. The institution head has failed miserably in their duty,” said a professor of the 183-year-old institution.

The protest march came in the wake of institution head calling the police in the institution on 5 July to escort him home after the students gheraoed him demanding hostel facilities. The police allegedly assaulted the CMCH students who according to them were peacefully protesting outside the principal’s office.

The on-duty police officer, Buddhadeb Mukhopadhyay, completely refuted allegation of assaulting the students. “We did not beat up any student. It was just a minor scuffle,” Mr Mukhopadhayay said.

Meanwhile, the pictures of the scuffle between the medical students and police say a different story altogether. Mr Bhadra refused to cooperate with the CMCH students on their hostel accommodation.

As per MCI rule, a medical college is bound to provide hostel facilities to 75 per cent of its students which has not happened in CMCH in the past three years.

Mr Bhadra called their demands ‘illogical’ and refused to ponder over the matter. Besides this, CMCH students smell foul of political intrusion in their college premises as they claim that Trinamul hooligans had many a time tried to scare them away during their protests.

It didn’t stop there as the students claimed that about 80 policemen along with hooligans brutally assaulted them on that night. The students have decided to sit on hunger strike on Tuesday onwards.