The Calcutta High Court has directed the Kolkata Police to ensure necessary security arrangements for the Saraswati Puja celebrations at Jogesh Chandra Chaudhuri Law College.

The single bench of Justice Jay Sengupta has ordered deployment of a Joint Commissioner rank officer of the Kolkata Police to oversee and be accountable for the security arrangements as well as video-graph the process.

Additionally, the court has ordered that the entire puja process also be recorded.

The court will hear the case again on February 5.

Jogesh Chandra Law College and Day College share the same campus, where Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee also studied law.

Traditionally, both colleges celebrate Saraswati Puja separately within the campus. However, this year allegations surfaced that the Day College students forcibly erected a pandal in front of the Law College’s pandal, effectively blocking the latter’s puja celebrations.

In response, Day College representatives denied any involvement, claiming that outsiders were responsible for setting up the pandal.

Following a row between two groups of students over organising Saraswati Puja in the college, a student had moved a petition before the Calcutta High Court seeking its intervention in the matter.

The HC has ordered the removal of both pandals, to be carried out by police on Saturday, with the entire process being videographed. Following this, the two colleges will hold separate Saraswati Puja celebrations like each year.

Meanwhile, the BJP has alleged that Hindus in West Bengal, like in Bangladesh, are not free to worship Goddess Saraswati.

Countering the allegations, the TMC claimed that it is an internal dispute between the colleges, which the BJP is trying to communalize.