Trinamool Chhatra Parishad, the students wing of the Trinamool Congress Party in West Bengal, allegedly locked 13 girl students in the bathroom of a college in North Bengal for refusing to attend their rally. The incident took place on 30 August in Dinhata College in Dinhata, and one girl had to be hospitalised.
Trinamool Chhatra Parishad has called for rallies and marches across the state against the ongoing protests over the rape and murder of a trainee doctor at RG Medical College and Hospital in Kolkata earlier this year. They have dictated that every student in the educational institutions must attend these rallies.
Accordingly, such a rally was organised in Dinhata on Friday, and students of the Dinhata College were asked to join the same. But some students refused to comply with the dictates of the TMC’s student wing. As a result, Trinamool Chhatra Parishad leaders locked thirteen girl students inside the bathroom of the girls’ common room of the college, as per reports.
The girls were stuck in the bathroom for a long time, begging to be released, but nobody came forward to rescue them. The girls then called a friend, who rushed to the spot. However, by the time the youth reached the bathroom, one girl fell ill due to suffocation. She was brought to Dinhata Sub Divisional Hospital, where she was admitted for treatment. The girl is a first-year student of the college.
After some time, Principal Abdul Awal visited the hospital to see the sick student. But he refused to answer any questions by reporters. After receiving information about the incident, the police went to the hospital and spoke to the student. She narrated what had happened. But the girl refused to talk to the reporters.
The incident to the media by the youth who rescued the girls. He said, ‘The members of Trinamool Chhatra Parishad kept 13 students locked inside the bathroom because they did not want to go to the procession. They repeatedly requested to open the toilet door. The student said repeatedly that she was having trouble breathing. The door was not opened.’
However, the police said that while they have received information about the incident, the family of the girl has not filed any written complaint. The father said that his daughter has a breathing problem, and she didn’t eat anything in the morning. Therefore, she might have fallen ill due to acidity because of not eating anything for a long time.
However Trinamool Chatra Parishad has denied the allegations, claiming that no such incident took place. Partishad leader Amir Alam said, ‘No such incident happened in the college. I heard from the girl’s father that two years ago this girl fell ill once due to breathing problem. She has fallen ill today for the same reason.’ Amir Alam alleged that the students have made false allegations against the TMC student wing.
On the other hand opposition student organisations have taken up the issue. ABVP State Secretary Deepta Dey strongly condemned the incident and demanded an impartial investigation. SFI’s Dinhata local committee secretary Abir Dev demanded to make the CCTV footage of the college public. he also questioned why a written complaint has not been lodged with the Dinhata police station in such incidents despite the fact that the principal was inside the college campus.
