I apologise for vandalism at Presidency: WB Guv

Kolkata (Agencies): West Bengal Governor MK Narayanan on Friday apologised to the students of Presidency University for the violence carried out by alleged Trinamool Congress youth wing activists.

Addressing the Kolkata-based institution, Narayanan, who is also the Chancellor of the prestigious university said, "I have failed to fulfil my responsibility towards you as the Chancellor."

Expressing regret over the incident, Narayanan said, "We believed West Bengal was safest place for girls and women�but I don't know what happened to the culture."

The Governor described the violence at Presidency University as a 'blot' and said such unfortunate incidents shouldn't happen again. A Narayanan also assured of a fair probe saying that he has asked the Police Commissioner to prevent such incidents from happening in future.

Addressing the students, the Presidency University Chancellor further said that he was not in the college to blame any political party but to provide support to the students. A The attack on Wednesday saw a mob storm the campus and use spears and other weapons to attack students and property.

Armed with sticks and rods, Trinamool Congress Chhatra Parishad members allegedly stormed the Presidency University campus Wednesday, assaulting students, including women, and vandalised its famous physics department. The miscreants ransacked the heritage, century-old Baker's Building which houses the physics laboratory where eminent scientists like Jagadish Chandra Bose, Satyendra Nath Bose and Meghnad Saha conducted research.

Vice chancellor Malabika Sarkar, who has gone on record as saying that the vandals carried the ruling Trinamool Congress party's flags during the attack, asked Trinamool chief and Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee and Governor MK Narayanan to ensure that the miscreants get exemplary punishment.

The vandalism was part of a series of alleged statewide retaliatory attacks after Trinamool supremo Banerjee and her Finance Minister Amit Mitra were Tuesday heckled in Delhi by activists of the Students Federation of India, the students wing of the Communist Party of India-Marxist.

The West Bengal Human Rights Commission has ordered a probe by police as well as an independent inquiry by former Presidency University principal Amol Mukhopadhyay, into the attack on Presidency.