Violence & vandalism rock JU, right-wing mob enters at night | Kolkata News
Kolkata: Waves of violence and vandalism rocked Jadavpur University from late evening on Wednesday as right-wing supporters entered the campus and went on a rampage for nearly three hours past midnight and then did a repeat on Thursday afternoon outside the campus.The attackers broke into the university through Gate No. 4 on Wednesday night and burned left-wing students’ groups’ flags and posters outside Aurobindo Bhavan, the main administrative building, and targeted students taking shelter on the campus. Subsequently, they tried to break open the gates of Main Hostel near Jadavpur Police Station.Tension escalated again on Thursday afternoon when Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad supporters marched from Golpark to Gate No. 4. They first tried to force open the locked gate and, after failing to do so, climbed atop it and threw stones, shoes and water bottles at students and faculty while abusing and threatening them. Eggs, the newest arsenal in Bengal’s political violence that have been used repeatedly against opponents, too, were used during the attack under the watch of local police and central forces.The ABVP rally reached the university around 2 pm after breaching two police barricades but university security guards — learning from Wednesday night’s violence — had locked the gates by then, pre-empting more violence.Senior police officers at the spot said they tried to stop the ABVP rally near the local police station and an SFI rally near 8B Bus Stand but both groups broke through the barricades. “We have collected CCTV footage and videographed the incident. Cases will be drawn up based on the probe,” an official added.The cycle of violence started on Wednesday evening following a clash between ABVP supporters and Democratic Students’ Front during a general body meeting of Faculty of Engineering and Technology Students’ Union. “ABVP members instigated and charged at students, which led to clashes inside and outside Gate No. 1,” engineering student Aliv Das said.The initial confrontation lasted till 10:30 pm. ABVP JU unit president Nikhil Das had to be admitted to a private hospital and injured DSF-affiliated students received treatment at M R Bangur Hospital. “I went there after our students were beaten up. I was physically assaulted by left-wing students and released from the hospital at 3 am on Thursday,” the ABVP president said.A university security guard said many students opted to stay on the campus for safety’s sake. “But, around 12:30 am, a mob of 100-150 people — armed with rods and sticks — forced their way through Gate No. 4 and tore down posters, erased graffiti and chased students towards Aurobindo Bhavan,” he added.Second-year postgraduate student Anushna Das said she and her friends locked themselves inside Aurobindo Bhavan for three hours. “The mob burned flags, threw stones and chanted slogans outside. We called university authorities and cops; police eventually arrived to disperse the mob,” she said.Cops said they entered the campus at night to chase away the outsiders. Around 50-60 students were on the campus and they initially declined to leave before police dispersed the mob and stationed personnel at the university gates as a safety measure. A joint commissioner of police added that ABVP members filed a formal complaint at the local police station around midnight following the initial altercation.Both students and faculty protested the attacks. “They kept on calling us anti-national,” Film Studies student Dwijita Sikdar recounted. A senior JU official described the events as unprovoked attacks by outsiders.Vice-chancellor Chiranjib Bhattacharjee, too, condemned the attack. “This is highly undesirable in an academic space. I urge all students across the political divide to show restraint. I may form an inquiry committee to investigate how outsiders entered the campus at midnight. CCTV footage will be reviewed,” he said.(inputs from Dwaipayan Ghosh)
