Kolkata: A clash broke out between members of ABVP and Left-leaning student groups at Jadavpur University here early on Thursday, with both sides accusing each other of bringing outsiders into the campus, officials of the varsity said.
Vice Chancellor Chiranjib Bhattacharya said the incident was undesirable and that a committee will be constituted to investigate it. He also said that entry of outsiders into the campus after dusk was restricted.
Several students were injured in the clash, and some of them were taken to a hospital, the officials said, adding that fire was set at several places of the university's main campus in the southern part of Kolkata.
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.
Jadavpur University's administrative building, Aurobindo Bhavan, was locked amid escalating tensions, while groups of students gathered outside.
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.
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.
The vice chancellor said he has spoken to several students, faculty members and officials, including the officiating registrar.
"Different ideologies co-exist on the campus. Being an alumnus of JU, I had been exposed to this plurality of views, the liberal space provided by this university. As the VC, I think the law of the land should be applicable on campus, and there should be security," he told reporters.
Bhattacharya said that the varsity authorities are against a police outpost on the campus following a high court order.
"If such undesirable things happen, we have to take enhanced steps for campus security. Entry of outsiders has been restricted on the campus after dusk. We will set up an inquiry committee to trace the circumstances," he said.
To a question, the VC said he will talk to Governor R N Ravi, who is the chancellor of the university.
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.
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 around 1 am, and beat up members of the Left-leaning student unions."
The Jadavpur University Teachers' Association (JUTA) condemned the entry of outsiders on the campus and acts of vandalism.
"We demand peaceful academic activity on the campus," a JUTA official said.
It also called for a half-day 'ceasework' by the faculty in protest against alleged acts of vandalism on the varsity compound.
JUTA general secretary Partha Pratim Roy said in a statement the sequence of events in the varsity should come under judicial probe, and "an FIR lodged against acts of arson and rampage by outsiders on the campus on August 19 midnight".
The All Bengal University Teachers Association (JU chapter) also condemned the "attack by outsiders on university property".
On Thursday afternoon, ABVP supporters breached police barricades and reached the locked entrance of the varsity's gate number 4, while Left-leaning students gathered in large numbers inside the campus to resist the attempted entry.
A group of SFI supporters also clashed with the police outside the university at the 8B bus stand area in the southern part of Kolkata, after they attempted to breach security barricades and march towards gate number 4.
Meanwhile, SFI state secretary Debanjan Dey told reporters during the demonstration that "activists of the RSS, BJP and ABVP led by a local BJP leader stormed into our campus last night and were involved in vandalism".
The BJP leader, who went to a local hospital to meet the injured ABVP activists, denied having entered the campus, but accused a section of the Left student outfits of "creating an atmosphere in JU where anti-national elements have a free run".
Police have deployed additional forces around the university in anticipation of further demonstrations.
Later, at a press conference, SFI leaders claimed that repeated attempts were made to alert the university authorities about the "entry by outsiders" on August 19 night, but no response was received.
They also alleged that the campus gates were "kept open for the attackers".
TMC MLA Kunal Ghosh said the clash at the varsity "lowered the image" of West Bengal before the entire country.
"Those who took part in the vandalism can be seen in the video footage of the rampage. Why can't the police sit up and take action in the interest of students, and ensure the academic atmosphere of one of the best educational institutions in the coutry," Ghosh said in a statement.
Accusing the Sangh Parivar of "declaring a war" on the new generation and students, West Bengal CPI(M) secretary Mohammed Salim claimed that ABVP activists launched an attack on those who speak of education, culture and free thinking during the clash at Jadavpur University.
West Bengal BJP president Samik Bhattacharya, however, said the ABVP is not the students' wing of the saffron party, maintaining that it is a nationalistic students' body, which functions independently.
This report was published from a wire feed. Apart from the headline, the EdexLive Desk has not edited the copy.
