Graft slur on Darj BT college principal

SNS, Darjeeling, 19 August 2014:Classes have come to a grinding halt at the Shree Ramakrishna Mission BT College in Darjeeling for the past seven days as the governing body of the college and the student wing of the Gorkha Jan Mukti Morcha (GJMM) are at loggerheads over corruption charges levelled by the student group against the college principal.

The strike at the college began on 13 August after the Gorkha Jan Mukti Vidyarthi Morcha (GJVYM), spearheading the indefinite strike, alleged that the principal was involved in corruption.

A meeting between the two parties today ended in an inconclusive note.

However, the governing body has said classes will resume on Thursday, as the “issue has been more or less settled.”

On the other hand, the GJVYM threatened to continue with the strike until the college management forms an enquiry committee to look into the alleged corruption. The students have also demanded action against the principal.

"We hope to resume classes from Thursday onwards as the issue is more or less settled. We also hope that the matter will be resolved through discussions as the studies of the students are being hampered," the president of the governing body, Kumar Gurung, said. Roshan Giri, the executive member of the Gorkhaland Territorial Administration (GTA) who heads the education department, has also been informed of the matter.

"We have evidence to prove that the principal is corrupt. He has taken extra money from students other than the sum mentioned in the fees. We have also enlisted such corruption in various other matters related to the college, and we want answers from the management,” the spokesperson of the GJVYM, Sandeep Chhetri, said, adding that they want the principal to be suspended.

"We will not lift the strike until the governing body of the college gives us an assurance in writing to form an enquiry committee," he said.

Despite several attempts, the principal could not be contacted for comment.