Trinamool Congress (TMC) MLA Kunal Ghosh condemned the treatment of the vice-principal. “We condemn the incident that took place against the vice principal,” he said, alleging that student politics at the college had previously been controlled by ‘rebel’ TMC MP Sudip Banerjee, who he said was now with the BJP.
Tarannum herself spoke angrily about the political allegations surrounding her. “It is repeatedly being said that I am involved in Left-wing politics. Yes, I used to be. But since 2016, I have stepped away from all forms of political membership,” she said.
She also criticised the TMC government, alleging that a party leader had repeatedly created obstacles for her. “That is why I voted for the BJP myself. I wanted change; I wanted a new government that would work for the people. Is this the face of the new government?” she asked.
Then came the most jarring image of the day. After Tarannum left under police supervision, a section of students lit incense sticks and sprinkled Ganga water throughout the college, describing it as a ‘purification’ ritual.
First-year LLM student Milton Sarkar said, “Our college has been cleansed of sin; that is why we performed this purification using incense and Ganges water.”
Whatever the students intended, the timing and symbolism were difficult to ignore. A vice-principal had just emerged from an ordeal in which she alleged confinement, darkness, deprivation and coercion. The immediate ritual ‘cleansing’ of the premises risked turning a serious institutional dispute into a public spectacle of humiliation.
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