Siliguri, 20th May: The atmosphere at North Bengal University (NBU) has become charged following the death of Babita Dutta, a research scholar at the institution. Members of the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) protested by burning tires in front of the University’s administrative building, demanding the arrest of Professor Siddharth Shankar Lohar.
Reportedly, On Monday, ABVP members gathered signatures at Law More before staging their protest. During the demonstration, Hare Krishna Dutta, the brother of the deceased, called for strict punishment for the accused.
ABVP State Secretary Deepto Dey asserted that Babita Dutta did not commit suicide but was murdered and hanged. A suicide note found at Babita’s residence reportedly mentioned Siddharth Shankar Lohar by name. Following this, Babita’s brother filed a complaint at Matigara police station.
Debashish Dutta, the acting Registrar of NBU, expressed sorrow over the incident, emphasizing the respectful relationship that should exist between students, professors or research scholars. He noted that Siddharth Shankar Lohar has been asked to voluntarily resign from all his positions in light of the incident.