Tension prevails in JU campus

Mou Chakraborty and Saptarshi Banerjee
Kolkata, April 6, 2007

Despite Good Friday being a holiday, tension prevailed at the campus of Jadavpur University. There was an edgy calm and media persons were greeted with curious looks. Students were seen huddling together and questions to what happened on Thursday were met with blank and suspicious looks. Statements like, “We are not talking. Why don’t you talk to the authorities and various student union head,” were made to the media.
The trouble broke out after SFI lost the elections and continued till night in phases. Both the science club and the karmachari sansad were ransacked. The fire at the workers union started shortly after midnight. Initially, the fire brigade was not allowed to enter the campus, but good sense later prevailed.
Both the places, which is located just opposite the university’s central library was in a shambles. All glass panes on both the locations were broken. The doors were smashed; chairs and tables were scatted around the room. Even the computer monitors were not spared and pictures of Communist icons —Marx and Engels were lying on the floor. The blades of the fans were bent.
While the Jadavpur University authorities have promised a thorough internal probe, the police would conduct a parallel investigation to find out who actually carried out the vandalism on Thursday night.
Rajat Bandopadhyay, registrar of Jadavpur University said, “This is a work of a small section of students. We are also apprehending involvement of antisocial elements as well.” He said that around midnight the authorities received information that around 200 to 250 students had come out of the hostel with lathis and rods and were going towards the rail gate. The registrar added, “After sometime, we received information that they have entered the campus by overpowering the security guards. The guards were also taken hostage.” However no students have been identified because the incidents happened at night.
Bandopadhyay said, “The people who had lost the elections had earlier come to me to seek advice, as they were feeling insecure. I told them to stay outside the campus.”
Amit Chakraborty, the outgoing general secretary of FETSU said, “The SFI started the trouble with outsiders pitching in. These incidents have happened in the past also.” According to Chakraborty, the trouble started when the winners who had taken out a victory procession was stopped and attacked by two teachers and about 100 armed men from the workers union. He said, “The registrar is playing the role of a spectator. Six students of the winning group had to be hospitalised.” Chakraborty added that none of students affiliated to winning group have carried out the ransacking.
The SFI meanwhile has called a statewide Bengal students’ strike on Monday. Sudip Sengupta, state president of SFI, said activists have started a sit-in demonstration in front of the JU campus from Friday evening. Sengupta said that they would continue with the demonstration till the guilty are identified and punished. The SFI leader said outsiders were also involved.
Parimal Debnath president of Jadavpur University Teachers’ Association (JUTA) said, “We will try to restore normalcy soon. We have also submitted a letter to the authorities saying that no teachers have played a role in the ransacking.”
mou.hindustantimes@yahoo.comsaptarshi_banerjee@hotmail.com