Professor Subha Shankar Sarkar has resigned as the head of a committee constituted by Jadavpur University to probe the recent vandalism allegedly by Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) workers, citing his inability to conduct the inquiry effectively. The university will appoint a new committee head to carry out the investigation, news agency PTI quoted a university official as saying on Monday.
Professor Sarkar's decision came hours before the teachers' wing of the RSS, the Akhil Bhartiya Rashtriya Shaikshik Mahasangh, wrote to the JU vice-chancellor, opposing his appointment.
Sarkar told Jadavpur University Vice-Chancellor Chiranjib Bhattacharjee through an email on Saturday that he would not be able to take up the assignment. The development was later confirmed by the varsity’s acting registrar, Selim Box Mandal. "Sarkar has communicated his inability to head the panel. A new chairperson would be appointed shortly," Mandal reportedly said.
Sarkar said the university authorities had suggested that he could conduct the proceedings online, but he felt that such an inquiry could not be carried out effectively through virtual interactions. He is currently in Delhi and feels that any probe without meeting the people at ground zero cannot be effective.
"I informed the Jadavpur University vice-chancellor immediately after receiving the communication about my appointment. I am currently in Delhi, and the inquiry would require regular interactions with the people who were present on the campus during the incident," Sarkar, who is the former Netaji Subhas Open University vice-chancellor, told PTI on Monday.
A clash broke out between members of the ABVP and Left-leaning student groups at Jadavpur University early on August 20, with both sides accusing each other of bringing outsiders onto the campus. The RSS-affiliated ABVP alleged that members of the Left student organisations, including the SFI and DSO-DSF, 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 onto the campus and indulging in vandalism.
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, in a letter to the vice-chancellor, said Sarkar's appointment could raise doubts about the "credibility, independence, and impartiality" of the proposed inquiry. It 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.
Sarkar was appointed chairman of the school service commission in December 2020 while serving as vice-chancellor of Netaji Subhas Open University, Sardar claimed.
