A clash broke out between members of ABVP and Left-leaning student groups in Jadavpur University (JU) early on Thursday, with both sides accusing each other of bringing outsiders into the campus, varsity officials said.
Several students were injured in the clash, and some of them were taken to a hospital for treatment, they said.
The confrontation started over a meeting of the Faculty of Engineering and Technology Students' Union (FETSU) on Wednesday and continued late into the night, one of the varsity officials said.
Tension rises on campus
Jadavpur University's administrative building, Aurobindo Bhavan, was locked amid the escalating tension, while groups of students gathered outside the building.
Fires were also allegedly set at a few places on the campus in the early hours of Thursday, the university sources said.
Videos circulating among students' social media groups showed several people shouting slogans and attempting to enter locked buildings of the university.
The two camps have traded allegations over the presence of people from outside the university.
ABVP, Left groups trade allegations
RSS-affiliated Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) alleged that members of the Left student organisations, including the SFI and DSO-DSF, had started confrontations under the cover of the FETSU meeting.
Left-leaning groups, however, accused the ABVP of bringing outsiders into the campus and indulging in vandalism.
ABVP functionary Shubhabrata Adhikari alleged that several people from outside the university were involved in the attack and police complaints were lodged.
He also said members of the organisation had gathered outside the Jadavpur Police Station in protest.
Left student groups accused the ABVP of taking down flags and setting them on fire during the confrontation.
University official alleges outside entry
A Jadavpur University official said, "FETSU members allegedly slapped a worker of the ABVP unit of the university during the confrontation. Later, a mob, allegedly comprising local BJP workers, entered the campus at around 1 am, and beat up members of the Left-leaning student unions."
Jadavpur University Teachers' Association condemned the entry of outsiders on the campus and acts of vandalism.
"We demand peaceful academic activity on the campus," a JUTA official said.
Protests announced by both sides
ABVP announced a protest on the university campus on Thursday over the incident.
In response, SFI declared a demonstration at the 8B bus stand near the university during the day, its state committee member Subhajit Sarkar said.