Violence at Kolkata’s Jadavpur University continued late into Wednesday night after a dispute over a student meeting escalated into clashes between rival groups, leaving several students injured and parts of the campus damaged.
The events unfolded over several hours, with rival student organisations giving sharply different accounts of what triggered the confrontation.
Students affiliated with Left organisations alleged that members linked to the ABVP entered a general body meeting of the Faculty of Engineering and Technology Students’ Union (FETSU) carrying bamboo sticks and attacked students. The ABVP rejected the allegation and claimed that the meeting had been used to plan an assault on its members.
The situation soon spilled beyond the meeting venue.
As per reports, a student was allegedly attacked while buying food outside the campus after being identified as a Jadavpur University student. As tensions grew, meetings involving different student organisations and faculty members were disrupted.
Rival groups trade accusations
Students alleged that a much larger group subsequently gathered on the campus, with some estimating the crowd at around 500. They also claimed that several men entered the university on motorcycles.
The ABVP denied bringing outsiders into the campus. Its leaders instead accused Left organisations, including the SFI and DSO-DSF, of planning an attack on its supporters.
Left student groups, meanwhile, alleged that ABVP and NSF supporters had brought people from outside the university and were responsible for the violence.
As the confrontation intensified, a number of students sought refuge inside Aurobindo Bhavan.
Sheikh Nabab, a fourth-year chemical engineering student, shared videos from inside the building describing the situation. In one recording, he said students were trapped inside while people outside were attempting to enter. “ABVP goons have come to beat students on campus,” Nabab said in the video. “We are stuck in Aurobindo Bhawan.”
In another video, he pointed towards fires outside the building and described attempts to break through the gates.
Students allege stone-pelting and arson
Students sheltering inside Aurobindo Bhavan alleged that stones were thrown at the building and that people outside attempted to force their way through the gates.
They also claimed that flags were set ablaze and that attempts were made to damage or burn parts of the campus.
According to students, a poster belonging to Ashur Pathshala, an alumni-run initiative that provides tutoring to underprivileged children, was also set on fire. Other parts of the campus were allegedly vandalised.
By the early hours of Thursday, students said all four university entrances had effectively been blocked by the gathering crowd.
The university’s main hostel was also allegedly targeted. Students inside reportedly resisted attempts to enter the building.
