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A raging battle broke out between activists of an ultra-left organisation with Bharatiya Janata Party's Yuva Morcha members on Thursday as the saffron party leader Suvendu Adhikari's convoy came up to a gate of the Jadavpur University, where a student had died after being allegedly ragged and sexually harassed by seniors.
The ultra-Left body, All India Revolutionary Students Federation (AIRSF), was holding a black flag demonstration against Adhikari who was trying to give a speech, outside the university on the issue of the death of the student which has shocked the megapolis, when the two sides came to blows.
Adhikari told Yuva Morcha activists: “We have already taught a lesson to the 'Tukde-tukde' gang in JNU... we will cleanse them in Jadavpur as well.”
'Tukde-tukde' gang is a pejorative political catchphrase used by BJP against opponents accused of supporting sedition.
In his speech, the leader of the opposition in the state assembly attacked the left, ultra-Left and TMC student wings as well as the state government and blamed them for the state of affairs in the 67-year-old prestigious university.
"The state government has done nothing to stop ragging in state-run universities. The TMC is more interested in taking control of state-run universities. The TMC has turned universities into dens of anti-social activities," he said.
As activists from both sides engaged in a battle of fisticuffs, using motorcycle helmets as weapons, the city police had a hard time controlling and disengaging the two groups. Traffic outside the gate of the university snarled to a stop as the “war” raged across the road.
Several activists already bloodied and hurt were seen dragged by the police into waiting vans to be carried away to a lock-up after medical attention.
The ruling TMC alleged that after Adhikari finished his demonstration, he was greeted with black flags by a section of the students who were then beaten up by BJP goons, aided by the Central Armed Forces.
"A student from the transgender community was hit by a helmet and was left bleeding," the ruling party claimed in a post on X, formerly known as Twitter.
The TMC also alleged that Adhikari created a ruckus outside JU, verbally abused the police and passed derogatory remarks.
On Adhikari's allegation, TMC spokesperson Kunal Ghosh said, "BJP is just trying to fish in troubled waters. Before pointing fingers at us, they should take stock of the situation in Central government-run universities."
In separate protests, activists of CPI(M)'s SFI, Trinamool Chhatra Parishad and ABVP staged sit-ins at nearby spots outside gates four and five, but no untoward incident took place.
Even as the battle between rival bands of activists raged, the West Bengal government announced the formation of a four-member committee to probe into the administrative lapses connected with the death of the Jadavpur University student who was allegedly ragged and sexually harassed by his seniors before he fell from the hostel's balcony.
The 17-year-old deceased, who was a resident of Bagula in Nadia district, was a first-year undergraduate student of Bengali Honours.
The committee, which will be functioning immediately, has been asked to submit its report in two weeks, said officials.
The members of the committee are the vice-chairperson (academic) of the West Bengal State Council of Higher Education, the member-secretary of the council, the director of public instruction and the special commissioner of the higher education department.
The notice, which referred to certain "administrative lapses and infrastructural gaps" in Jadavpur University, said the panel "will identify these and take corrective steps".
In another development related to the August 9 incident, the University Grants Commission (UGC) in Delhi reprimanded Jadavpur University for submitting a "generic" report about the incident.
Noting that no proactive measures have been taken by the university to curb ragging on campus, the commission has told the university that it is not satisfied with the report.
"The report submitted was examined and it was found to be very generic in nature basically mentioning mostly the reactive approaches adopted in the matter than proactive measures taken to curb the menace of ragging. The commission is not satisfied with the report," a source told PTI in Delhi.
The UGC has further sought a compliance report on 12 queries raised by it and also documentary evidence within a day.
JU Registrar Snehamanju Basu told reporters it was a preliminary report and she was told by a UGC official it was "okay," (initial report) but the university will certainly file an action-taken exhaustive report about every query which will be compiled within a few days.
Basu also announced that JU made identity cards issued by the university mandatory for visitors to enter the campus from 8 pm to 7 am and decided to install CCTVs at strategic points, including at the gates at the earliest.
Nine former and current students of JU were arrested for allegedly ragging and sexually harassing the teenaged Bengali honours student leading to his death after falling from a second-floor balcony of the main hostel building last week. They were remanded to police custody.
The student fell around 11.45 pm on August 9 and died while undergoing treatment at a hospital the next day.
Kolkata Police has taken cognisance of JU students' social media posts, including photographs, which suggest that there was an element of sexual harassment in the ragging of the student.