Source : INDIA TODAY NEWS
One of the oldest and most prestigious colleges in Kolkata, Surendranath College, has found itself mired in controversy after two large boxes of termite-infested cash worth Rs 1 crore were found in the students’ union room. Hours later, more startling discoveries followed – two semi-furnished AC bedrooms, liquor bottles, condom packets and even a revolver. The development has again brought into focus the issue of alleged misuse of power within educational institutions in Bengal, with the BJP blaming the Trinamool Congress (TMC) for the mess in the state’s colleges.
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The students’ union room was opened after nearly a year. It was locked in 2025 after the Calcutta High Court directed the then TMC government to shut down union rooms in colleges, as campus elections had not been held since 2019. The court order came close on the heels of the gang-rape of a 24-year-old student in the union room of South Calcutta Law College in June last year.
The room at Surendranath College was opened after the Suvendu Adhikari-led BJP government asked colleges to audit all expenditure from students’ union funds, according to a report in The Telegraph. On Tuesday, the college authorities conducted a cleaning drive. However, skeletons soon began to tumble out of the closet.
WHAT WAS FOUND AT SURENDRANATH COLLEGE?
In the students’ union room, two large boxes of cash were found in an old wooden cupboard. Bundles of Rs 100 and Rs 500 notes were stacked inside. However, a significant portion of the cash had been damaged by termites, suggesting it had been kept in the cupboard for an extended period.
The BJP has alleged that the money might be linked to irregularities in college admissions.
It was enough to warrant a full-scale search of the college premises. It led to the discovery of two bedrooms inside the campus, equipped with ACs, attached bathrooms, beds, expensive mattresses and pillows. A report in the Bengali daily Sangbad Pratidin said the rooms were inaugurated as “terrace facilities” by the previous Trinamool regime.
College authorities alleged that the rooms were used by TMC strongman Debashis Bandyopadhyay, popularly known as ‘Kankata Debu’, and his son Shibashis. They further claimed that employees were made to give massages to the two leaders in these rooms.
Debashis Bandyopadhyay, however, rejected the charges, claiming he did not know about the bedrooms.
It was not all. The controversy deepened after several liquor bottles were found on the college rooftop and packets of condoms were recovered from the students’ common room, according to the report. Moreover, a revolver wrapped in a black packet was found hidden inside the union room. Police later arrived at the college and seized the gun.
The startling discoveries at the college, which have produced notable literary figures and freedom fighters, have engulfed the institution in a rapidly escalating political row.
BJP ACCUSES TRINAMOOL OF CORRUPTION
BJP MLA Sajal Ghosh, who reached the college as the row blew up and videos emerged on social media, sought an ED probe into the source of the cash. Ghosh told local media that the cash could be linked to an admission racket in the college. He alleged that leaders of the Trinamool Chhatra Parishad (TMCP) used to take lakhs of rupees in exchange for admissions to the college.
He further alleged that the money generated through such corruption eventually reached Kalighat, referring to the residence of former Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee. The Trinamool hasn’t reacted to the allegation yet.
“Students are generally charged Rs 50-100 as a students’ union fee. The union fund can’t accumulate Rs 1.5 crore in a year from such collections alone,” Ghosh told Anandabazar Patrika.
On June 1, the BJP government directed all state-aided universities and colleges to immediately stop collecting “students’ union fees”.
WHY IT IS THE TIP OF THE ICEBERG?
However, the development may be just the tip of the iceberg. Over several years, allegations of union leaders across colleges taking hefty sums from students in exchange for admissions have flown thick and fast. The students used to be charged anywhere between Rs 20,000 and Rs 50,000.
In 2017, the then Education Minister Partha Chatterjee warned the Trinamool Chhatra Parishad (TMCP) against such practices. However, it silently continued behind the scenes.
In recent years, while students’ unions no longer existed formally as elections had not been held, Trinamool student leaders continued to dominate campuses. According to a report in The Telegraph, which quoted a vice-chancellor of a university, the union rooms functioned as usual, and TMC student leaders charged fees from students to organise fests and events.
“On many campuses, former student leaders controlled everything,” the vice-chancellor said.
Even in Surendranath College, similar allegations have surfaced. Authorities have claimed that the students’ union had an iron grip within the institution.
Teaching and non-teaching staff have also alleged that those not complying with the union’s directives were intimidated or harassed, according to a report in the Indian Express Bangla.
The staff have also alleged that the students’ union room functioned as a “private enterprise” under the guise of student politics.
They claimed meritorious and economically backward students were deprived, while those students who paid hefty sums were admitted.
This, however, is not limited only to Surendranath College. Over the years, such allegations of high-handedness by student unions across campuses have emerged frequently. With the BJP government now ordering an audit of such students’ union funds, more such skeletons (read cash) may tumble out of closets.
– Ends
SOURCE :- TIMES OF INDIA
