A group of students from Ernakulam Maharajas college burnt the chair of the college principal on Thursday in protest against her derogatory comments about girl students.

For the last many days, the college has been witnessing protests against the principal N L Beena’s controversial comment that “girl students come to college to cosy up with boys”.

The principal was on leave for a month.

Protesters barged in to the principal’s office, took her chair and burnt it at the college gate.

The protest was led by Students Federation of India activists at the campus.

Earlier, the All-Kerala Government College Teachers’ Association (AKGCTA) had come down hard on NL Beena over the same issue.

An official statement from AKGCTA said that in the history of Maharaja’s college, no principal has ever made such a statement.

The association also alleged that the principal had sent derogatory messages about a junior teacher to other teachers, and also photographed male teachers speaking with female teachers.

The principal had also faced criticism after five students from the college were arrested for graffiti on walls in the college campus. The arrest was based on a complaint filed by the principal. She had alleged that the graffiti contained obscene words that harmed religious sentiments.