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A principal of a college, also an ace botanist, has recently been attacked in Chapra in West Bengal's Nadia district for trying to protect a local biodiversity hotspot. The area, close to the Bangladesh border, is stated to be rich in biodiversity, including medicinal plants, butterflies, insects and several other animal and plant species.
The incident, that happened on the evening of July 2, 2025, has sent shockwaves among the green activists of the state. They have demanded strong action against the person who attacked the professor, warning that a wrong message would be sent to society otherwise.
The academic was working closely with the West Bengal Biodiversity Board, a statutory body under state environment department meant to protect biodiversity of the state. The member secretary of the board has shot a letter to the district modal officer on biodiversity in Nadia, with a copy to the district magistrate on July 3, asking them “to take cognizance of the seriousness of this incident” and reminded that “a strong message of support and protection will go a long way …in encouraging the nature conservation community”.
Police sources, however, confirmed that as of July 4, only a legal notice had been sent to the attacker named in the academic's first information report. Further action will be taken soon, depending on the attacker's response, they informed.
Attacked suddenly
“ … During my regular weekly monitoring of …Biodiversity Hotspot Conservation site today on July 2, 2025 at Rajibpur near BSF check post at 5 pm, an unknown local villager attempted to murder me and slapped forcefully …” wrote Subhasis Panda, the principal of a government college, in his complaint to the inspector in charge of local Chapra police station in the same day.
Panda, who spoke to this correspondent on July 4, later shared with the police that the name of the miscreant was Ajoy Ghosh, who happened to be a close relative of a Trinamul functionary of the local panchayat.
“When I (was) surveying one such biodiversity hotspot … Ajoy Ghosh came with motorbike and asked me … why you have fixed the board named biodiversity conservation along the roadside bushes? And who permitted you?” wrote Panda in his complaint, a copy of which is with this correspondent. Subsequently, Ghosh, who was accompanied by two accomplices, slapped the official and tried to hit him with a blunt object but Panda escaped major injuries as his guard intervened.
“We are appalled by the incident and have already sent a letter to the district nodal officer and district magistrate. Panda is a dedicated conservationist and has been in touch with us for about a year regarding conserving the biodiversity of the area. He has put up the biodiversity awareness boards with his own money as suggested by us and we also sent an expert to check the ground level scenario sometimes back. Unless actions are taken against the miscreant, the desirable involvement of wider community for saving biodiversity will come under threat,” said HS Debnath, chairman of state biodiversity board to this correspondent on Friday.
Rich biodiversity
The researcher told Down To Earth that though no official report has yet been prepared on the biodiversity reserves in the hotspots, where stray stretches of dense and old vegetation are located, the region has plenty of floral and faunal varieties. “Only a small stretch in Gongra area of Chapra was found to be the habitat of several medicinal plants, birds, butterflies and even insects apart from some mammals. Since June, 2023, when I got transferred to this college from Darjeeling, I have been working in these areas, consulted with state biodiversity board and put small awareness hoardings adjacent to these shrubs to aware the locals of the importance of not removing them and was just monitoring those places, when the incident happened,” added the academic.
“It’s a slap on the environmental movement of the state and we demand immediate arrest of the perpetrator,” said an activist associated with the state level environment platform Sabuj Mancha. Several other green organisations also opposed the act, and criticised local police for not arresting the alleged culprit.
The police, however, claimed that they have been acting as per law. “We have sent a legal notice to the alleged culprit and will take action if he fails to respond properly within three days,” said the inspector in charge of Chapra police station to the correspondent on Friday evening.
“For offenses, where the punishment may be less than seven years imprisonment; there is a provision of sending a legal notice; but considering the seriousness of the crime committed, police can also arrest the offense committer even if the punishment provision may be less than 7 years and only need appropriate explaining to the court,” explained Kishor Mandal, a senior crime lawyer in state.