Professor Subha Shankar Sarkar has resigned as the head of a five-member committee constituted by Jadavpur University to probe into the recent vandalism on its campus allegedly by ABVP workers. Sarkar cited his inability to conduct the inquiry effectively, a varsity official said on Monday. The university will appoint a new committee head to carry out the investigation.
Jadavpur University acting registrar Selim Box Mandal stated that Sarkar has communicated his inability to head the panel, and a new chairperson would be appointed shortly. Sarkar informed Jadavpur University Vice Chancellor Chiranjib Bhattacharjee through an email on Saturday that he would not be able to take up the assignment. Sarkar is currently in Delhi, and the inquiry would require regular interactions with the people who were present on the campus during the incident.
A clash broke out between members of ABVP and Left-leaning student groups at Jadavpur University on August 20, with both sides accusing each other of bringing outsiders into the campus. The two camps had traded allegations over the presence of people from outside the university. The RSS-affiliated Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) alleged that members of the Left student organisations had started confrontations under the cover of a meeting of the Faculty of Engineering and Technology Students’ Union (FETSU).
The Left-leaning groups, however, accused the ABVP of bringing outsiders into the campus and indulging in vandalism. Sarkar’s decision came hours before the teachers’ wing of the RSS, the Akhil Bharatiya Rashtriya Shaikshik Mahasangh, wrote to the JU vice chancellor, opposing his appointment. The teachers’ organisation questioned Sarkar’s selection to lead the inquiry panel, referring to his removal as the chairman of the West Bengal School Service Commission in January 2022 following proceedings before the Calcutta High Court over alleged irregularities in recruitments.
The university had announced the formation of the committee on August 21, following a demonstration by students, teachers and citizens protesting against the alleged vandalism on the campus. The RSS-linked teachers’ wing demanded that the panel be headed by a retired judge of the Calcutta High Court or Supreme Court to ensure an independent and transparent investigation. Bhaskar Sardar, president of the organisation’s JU unit, welcomed Sarkar’s decision to resign.
