PUNE, Oct 1: Sir Parshurambhau (SP) College principal H S Sane on Tuesday suffered minor injuries on his left leg while attempting to prevent four teenagers from enjoying a joy ride in a car on the campus. The principal, who was dragged along with the speeding car, remained non-plussed while irate students and staff immediately observed a bandh to protest against the incident.Sane said that at around 1.45 pm he saw a metallic grey Maruti car bearing the registration number MA 09 HA 7897 (Sane said he was unsure of the last digit - could be 1 also) trying to leave the campus and decided to stop it near the chemistry department. Cars were not allowed on campus, the principal added.Even as Sane made a valiant attempt to stop it by getting hold of the car door, the vehicle sped away dragging the principal along with it. Shocked teachers and students who immediately gathered around called for a bandh and condemned the incident. Sane stressed that the teenagers were not students of his college. Sports director Raghav Ashtekar said that since the 25 acre campus had many doors it was difficult to prevent outsiders from entering the campus.Distressed by the increasing number of `mischievous pranks', the principal had held a meeting with NSS volunteers on Tuesday morning to work out an effective way of dealing with them. ``I am really disgusted. Everybody places the blame on the principal when such incidents occur. But who do I stop,'' a harried Sane said.The incident led to a heated debate amongst the teachers, with several of them condemning the ``undesired elements'' who tried to create trouble in the college. Students of the college also drew flak for their pranks. ``They don't even think twice today before exploding a fire-cracker in the classroom,'' rued Ashtekar.
