Kolkata: Giasuddin Mondal, the expelled student of Aliah University, who had been accused of heckling and abusing Vice Chancellor Mohammad Ali, was arrested on Sunday.
He was arrested in North 24 Parganas district of West Bengal and his mobile phone was also seized. The police were trying to trace Mondal's associates who had accompanied him while he was seen humiliating the vice chancellor.
A video went viral on Saturday night in which Mondal was seen abusing the vice chancellor in his chamber in the university campus.
Mondal, the former unit head of the students' wing of West Bengal's ruling party, Trinamool Congress, was recently expelled from the university. The vice chancellor has alleged that although he called up the local police station for assistance, the reply was negative. The university authorities have lodged a complaint with the local police on this count also.
The event evoked strong criticism from the different political and academic circles in the state. Even governor Jagdeep Dhankhar strongly described it as a grave insult upon the "temple of education".
"The teacher is a guru and my heart bleeds," the Governor said. The BJP demanded immediate removal of Education Minister Bratya Basu.
Finally on Sunday noon, the police arrested the accused from a rented accommodation in Salt Lake.
Giasuddin Mondal, however, said he tendered an apology to a section of the media for his behaviour towards the vice chancellor. "As a student I should not have used those abuses and I apologise for that. I sought an appointment from him to discuss some alleged irregularities relating to admission for PhD in the university and went to his office. But he kept me waiting for around three hours and hence I went to his room to register my protest," Mondal said.
Meanwhile, political mudslinging has started over the development. West Bengal BJP President party MP, Sukanta Majumdar said such is the culture that has been unleashed by the student leaders of Trinamool Congress on the campuses. "The vice chancellor of Aliah University is a perfect gentleman and hence he did not react. Had I been there I would have slapped Mondal," Majumdar said.
CPI-M central committee member and former leader of Left legislative party in West Bengal Assembly, Dr Sujan Chakrabarty said that after the video went viral, the Trinamool Congress leadership might resort to some eyewash on the expulsion of the accused student leader from the party. "But after some time, the same person will be back in Trinamool Congress with full power and authority," he said.
Trinamool Congress state general secretary and the party spokesman, Kunal Ghosh claimed that the opposition parties were unnecessarily politicising the entire issue. "I have enquired that the accused person had already been expelled from the party and has no connection with the student's wing of Trinamool Congress anymore," he said.
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