The situation in Jadavpur University continues to remain tensed on Wednesday with the students continuing their protest. Following a general body meeting involving all Left student organisations, including SFI, the protesters held a rally on campus which ended at the office of interim vice chancellor Bhaskar Gupta.
They have been demanding that the VC meet them and address their concerns. They had set a deadline of 4 PM on Wednesday for him to respond before intensifying their demonstrations. However, Gupta was admitted to a hospital on Wednesday, making a meeting with the protesters impossible.
Other demands by protesters include the immediate holding of student body elections, the university covering all medical expenses for injured students, and the filing of an FIR against the education minister, whose car allegedly caused an eye injury to Indranuj Roy, a first-year JU student.
Meanwhile, the Calcutta High Court stated that the state’s intelligence authorities failed to handle the incident of misconduct towards West Bengal's education minister Bratya Basu at Jadavpur University on Saturday and the subsequent unrest. The incident had injured the education minister, former vice chancellor of Jadavpur University Om Prakash Mishra and two students.
A Left student organisation later approached the high court, alleging that the police were refusing to register their complaint. While hearing the matter on Wednesday, Justice Tirthankar Ghosh remarked that if intelligence officers continue to do their duty in the same manner, more serious incidents could occur in the state. The court emphasised that this incident alone should serve as a lesson.
ALSO READ:
- Border dispute causes tension in Odisha's Balasore as locals accuse West Bengal of encroachment
- Jadavpur University row: TMC's education cell protests attack on education minister, VC calls for judicial inquiry
- Déjà vu? New mothers falling ill at Burdwan hospital sparks fears of Midnapore horror repeat
“If intelligence officials fail in their duties, the state could face a situation similar to that of the neighbouring country in the future. Such a scenario must not be allowed to happen,” Justice Ghosh said.
The court also stated that the complaint filed by the injured student via email must be acknowledged, and an FIR should be registered by Wednesday. Additionally, Justice Ghosh directed the authorities to prepare a detailed report covering all accounts and counter-accounts of the incident.
A significant number of teaching and non-teaching staff of JU, except those affiliated with the TMC-aligned West Bengal College University Professors’ Association (WBCUPA) and Siksha Bandhu, organized a rally inside the Jadavpur University campus on Wednesday.
Protesting under the banner of “All Stakeholders,” they also called for the immediate conduct of student body elections and demanded justice for the first-year student who was injured by the education minister’s car.
