Violence At Campuses in West Bengal As Leftist Students’ Organisations Go In For Strike

Kolkata: Clashes between groups of students erupted at various colleges across West Bengal on Monday, during a strike call given by Leftist students’ organisations, seeking the ouster of state education minister Bratya Basu for Saturday’s incident at Jadavpur University (JU).

Clashes occurred between members of the SFI, AIDSO – among the organisations that have given the strike call – and the Trinamool Congress Chhatra Parishad (TMCP) at Midnapore, Panskura, Siliguri and Cooch Behar since Monday morning. The situation at college campuses in Kolkata are peaceful, though JU and Presidency University wore a deserted look.

On Saturday, Basu was at JU to attend a meeting of the West Bengal College and University Professors Association (WBCUPA). when he was accosted by SFI and AISA members. The students demanded a meeting with the minister for the announcement of dates for Students’ Union elections. Basu apparently refused to accede to their demands and some of the students turned violent, turning their ire on the minister’s vehicle.

When the minister’s convoy tried to leave the campus, one of the cars grazed against two students who had to be admitted to a private hospital. A mob then vandalised an office of the JU workers’ union before setting it ablaze. Later, a former student of the University was arrested for being involved in the arson. This former student, a resident of Birbhum, has been remanded to police custody till March 12 by a court.

On Monday, a non-bailable warrant was issued against one of the injured students, who is still in hospital. Kolkata Police commissioner told journalists that seven FIRs have been filed in the matter at the local police station. While two of these were filed by the police suo motu, the five others were filed by different organisations.

The protesting students did not attempt to bring out rallies or block traffic though. Their leaders announced that the organisations would do nothing to disrupt the higher secondary examinations that started in the state from Monday.