Calcutta Medical College students on indefinite hunger strike demanding students union election

NEW DELHI: Calcutta Medical College students’ indefinite ‘hunger strike’ enters day three today. The students have been protesting demanding a student council election. There has been no election for the past seven years.

Services at the medical college, including the outpatient department, were adversely affected by the unrest, which started on Monday evening, as the doctors held a sit-in outside hospital superintendent Anjan Adhikari's chamber, demanding that elections be conducted immediately.

Students gheraoed principal and teachers for at least 30 hours. Anjan Adhikari, however, did not seek police help to restore normalcy. A student on Twitter alleged that teachers tried to choke students and one was reportedly hospitalized.

"They (agitating students) are like my own children. It's true that I have been held up in my chamber with several others for more than 30 hours, but I will not call the police," Adhikari told PTI.

The principal of the medical college said, "Many people are falling sick. Some held up are above 50 years of age." Sources in the health department said its secretary NS Nigam has been informed about the protest.

Scenes from Calcutta Medical College where TMC-aligned 'teachers' Tapan Naskar & Suhana Sarkar tried to choke students. 1 hospitalised.

Medical students are fighting for student union elections. Why is TMC afraid? MCDSA has been a radical voice of student movt for decades in WB. pic.twitter.com/U5QWxs6xVL

— Sourya Majumder (@DelhiSourya) December 6, 2022