Days after violence and vandalism rocked Kolkata’s Jadavpur University, CCTV footage from the varsity’s Gate No. 4 has brought the role of former acting Vice-Chancellor Buddhadev Sau under scrutiny, with sections of the teaching community calling for an investigation into his presence at the spot. The footage shows Sau standing near the gate during the violence, alongside an ABVP central committee member, prompting questions over his role in the incident and whether he was involved in facilitating the entry of outsiders into the campus.
A university official told News The Truth that investigators would examine whether Buddhadev Sau had any role in the events. The university is expected to place the matter before its inquiry committee, while some teachers are also seeking a police investigation.
“The allegations against him are extremely serious. His role must be thoroughly investigated. The CCTV footage is startling. What was the former VC doing at the spot that day? If he was there to pacify the students, why did he not go to the site of the incident? Why was he standing at the gate? He was simply standing at the gate while vandalism was taking place inside the campus. This needs to be investigated,” Jadavpur University Teachers’ Association president Partha Ray told News The Truth.
Buddhadev Sau, however, has rubbished such allegations and denied any wrongdoing and said he had gone to the campus to prevent the situation from escalating. “The Vice-Chancellor was unavailable and his phone was switched off. The students tried to contact him. What was I supposed to do in such a dire situation? I could not allow another incident like the death of the first-year student to happen again. I was there to pacify the situation and ensure that things did not escalate,” Sau told News The Truth.
He said students had contacted him and that police had also reached out to him when the Vice-Chancellor remained unresponsive. “I could not simply sit at home and allow things to escalate. I was there to ensure the safety and security of the students,” he added. Buddhadev Sau also alleged that a section of professors, media personnel and students were attempting to malign him.
The former acting VC when asked about being seen alongside the ABVP state president, an individual accused of allegedly setting fire to flags at Aurobindo Bhavan, and other BJP leaders, said, “I was not aware of their political identities. I interacted with them as individuals and tried to reason with them to stop the violence. Those bringing politics into this have their own motives. I simply interacted with them as members of the crowd present there,” Sau said.
Buddhadev Sau had previously served as acting Vice-Chancellor after being appointed to the post by then Governor C V Ananda Bose in 2023, following a period of turmoil at the university after the death of a first-year student in the hostel. He has been associated with the RSS-affiliated Akhil Bharatiya Rashtriya Shaikshik Mahasangh (ABRSM), a teachers’ organisation with a presence at Jadavpur University. Reports have identified Sau as the president of the organisation’s West Bengal chapter and, more recently, as a spokesperson for its Jadavpur University unit.
Violence broke out at Kolkata’s Jadavpur University on August 19 after a confrontation between ABVP and Left-leaning student groups during a FETSU meeting reportedly escalated into clashes and vandalism. A group of alleged outsiders subsequently entered the campus through Gate No. 4, with university property, including heritage structures, damaged in the violence. Tensions continued the following day, with clashes also reported outside the campus.
Following the incident, Vice-Chancellor Chiranjib Bhattacharya constituted a three-member high-level inquiry committee to examine the circumstances surrounding the August 19 violence and the subsequent developments. The university has also lodged a police complaint over the alleged entry of outsiders, damage to the main gate and other property, the burning of festoons, and students being allegedly locked inside a building. The administration has said CCTV footage from across the campus will be handed over to police as part of the investigation.
