Calcutta High Court Calls For State's Report On Jadavpur Univ Campus Unrest Involving Education Minister's Convoy, Questions Police Inaction

The Calcutta High Court on Wednesday questioned the police over its inability to act during violent clashes which took place between Education Minister Bratya Basu's convoy and protesting students from Jadavpur University.

Reportedly, the clashes left several students injured, one of whom was also seen being crushed under the Education Minister's convoy vehicle during the melee. The student, Indranuj Roy, escaped with injuries to his eye and temple.

Justice Tirthankar Ghosh, who was hearing the plea, noted that such incidents could have been avoided if the police had taken proactive steps by intermingling with the crowd and stepping in when things began to get heated. He classified the incident as an "intelligence failure" and noted that a "reluctance to work" had penetrated the police force.

 He also questioned the police's investigation of the matter and raised questions over the security provided to state ministers and if Basu had defied intelligence reports and visited the campus against better judgment. 

Senior advocate Bikash Ranjan Bhattacharya, who represented the students of the university, submitted that the police had not filed any cases based on their complaints and that even Indranuj Roy, who had to be hospitalised ,was not able to file a complaint detailing his ordeal.

The court thus called for a report from the state detailing what went wrong at the university and also directed Roy to file an FIR over the incident involving him.

It also noted that the state should take great care with such unrest to avoid a situation as seen in the "neighbouring country", Bangladesh, where student protests led to the overthrowing of Sheikh Hasina's government.

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