Jadavpur University files police complaints after campus violence; three-member committee formed

Jadavpur University authorities on Friday lodged police complaints over violence and vandalism on the campus following clashes between members of the ABVP and Left-leaning student organisations, while setting up a three-member high-level committee to examine the events that unfolded over two days. One complaint relates to the entry of a crowd into the university campus around midnight, an alleged attempt to damage the main gate, the burning of festoons and the locking of some students inside a building. University authorities have sought a police investigation and measures to prevent a recurrence of such incidents.

Panel to probe violence

Vice-Chancellor Chiranjib Bhattacharya said the university had constituted a three-member committee to examine the circumstances and factors that led to the August 19 midnight incident and the developments that followed. The committee will also look into damage caused to two heritage emblems and submit recommendations that will be shared with the police.

A separate police complaint was filed over an incident involving gate number 4, where people allegedly scaled the university gate, damaged a historic emblem designed by legendary artist Nandalal Bose and threw stones and water bottles.

The developments followed clashes between ABVP members and Left-leaning student groups in the early hours of Thursday. Both sides accused each other of bringing outsiders onto the campus. Several students were injured and some required hospital treatment, while fires were also reported at different places inside the south Kolkata campus.

The confrontation had its origins in a meeting of the Faculty of Engineering and Technology Students’ Union on Wednesday and escalated as tensions continued late into the night.

Students take to streets

The unrest spilled beyond the campus on Friday as Left-leaning student organisations, including the SFI and DSO, held a joint march protesting against the alleged vandalism and damage to the university emblem. Around 2,000 students marched along S C Mallik Road, raising slogans and disrupting vehicular movement in the area.

The Jadavpur University Teachers’ Association also observed a half-day ceasework to protest against the incidents on campus over the previous two days. The ABVP, meanwhile, staged a separate demonstration in the College Street area.

The university administration is now seeking to establish how the violence began, whether outsiders entered the campus and who was responsible for the damage. The high-level committee’s findings are expected to form part of the institution’s response alongside the police investigation.

The fresh turmoil has once again raised concerns over security and political confrontation at Jadavpur University, with the administration facing the immediate challenge of restoring normalcy while ensuring accountability for the violence and damage to the institution’s heritage symbols.