Kolkata: The protests held by students in Kolkata against police brutality at the Jadavpur University campus has made waves in New Delhi and Bengaluru as the University’s former students held their own protests demanding the resignation of the vice-chancellor and an impartial probe into the incident.
Carrying placards and shouting slogans, the protesters also demanded an apology from West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee over the matter. Protestors held a march from Banga Bhawan to Jantar Mantar in New Delhi to show their solidarity with the students. Similar scenes were also witnessed in Bengaluru.
“There had been incidents in the past where students got into a tiff with [the] vice-chancellor or other faulty members on various issues. But never had anyone called the police to actually beat up students. We are hearing that the police had openly threatened that if there is any further agitation they will be subjected to further torture. It seems dark days have descended on the campus,” said Aparajita Roy, a former student now living in New Delhi.
Students now fired up after receiving “moral support” from West Bengal Governor K N Tripathi have vowed not to return to classes until Vice-Chancellor Abhijit Chakraborty resigns. “Ours was a completely peaceful protest, but the vice-chancellor called the police inside the campus. We were beaten up, many of our friends are in hospital battling for their lives, girls were molested and many of us were arrested. So we cannot accept him as the vice-chancellor anymore,” said Sambit Roy, a student at the forefront of the movement.
A university teachers’ body also said its members would not deal with the vice-chancellor when he comes to the campus. Nandini Mukherjee, joint secretary of the Jadavpur University Teachers’ Association, said, “The VC must relinquish the post now and all teachers will boycott him if he comes to the campus. We will also not cooperate with him in any administrative work.”
The state government, however, refuses to take any action against Chakraborty as the State Education Minister Partha Chatterjee believes that students are being misled by people who have a vested interest in creating unrest in West Bengal.
“We also want a fair probe into the August 28 molestation case. But by not cooperating with the institute they are only blocking the way. I hope the students will understand the rationale and go back to [their] studies,” Chatterjee told Gulf News.
The minister also blamed some teachers for the unrest. “It is surprising that a section of teachers were allowed by the protesting students to leave while 45 teachers were held up on that day. We are looking into it departmentally,” the minister said.
