Jadavpur University Clash Escalates: Overnight ABVP-Left Violence Followed by Fresh Protests, Barricade Breach

Kolkata: Tension at Jadavpur University escalated further on Thursday evening as an ABVP procession broke through police barricades and reached the university’s main gate, where the iron emblem of the institution was reportedly damaged. The development came hours after an overnight clash between ABVP and Left-leaning student groups left several students injured and triggered a heavy police and Rapid Action Force deployment around the campus.

The situation, which began with a General Body Meeting of the Faculty of Engineering and Technology Students’ Union (FETSU) on Wednesday night, has since developed into a wider law-and-order confrontation, with rival student organisations holding separate demonstrations, protesters clashing with police and a criminal case being pursued against 11 people.

The latest escalation came during an ABVP march on Thursday. Protesters broke through police barricades and proceeded towards the university gate despite attempts by security personnel to prevent the rival groups from coming face-to-face. According to the latest reports from the area, the procession eventually reached the university entrance and the iron emblem there was damaged amid the commotion.

The development followed an already tense morning in which ABVP and the Students’ Federation of India (SFI) organised separate protest programmes. Police had put up barricades at several points around Jadavpur to keep the groups apart after the violence that continued into the early hours of Thursday. The attempt to contain the demonstrations itself resulted in repeated confrontations, with protesters trying to breach barricades and police and Rapid Action Force personnel moving to disperse them.

The origins of the confrontation lie in Wednesday night’s FETSU General Body Meeting. The meeting, which began at Aurobindo Bhavan, became contentious after ABVP members questioned its legitimacy and the manner in which the student body was being constituted. According to the police account reported by The Indian Express, the disagreement turned physical, with ABVP members Diptiman Kar and Nikhil Das among those injured and taken to KPC Medical College and Hospital.

The rival groups have continued to give fundamentally different accounts of what happened. ABVP has alleged that its members were attacked after objecting to the meeting and has accused Left student organisations of being responsible for the violence. Left groups, meanwhile, have alleged that ABVP supporters brought outsiders into the campus and used them to create disorder. Both sides have also accused the other of vandalism and physical attacks.

The issue of outsiders has become particularly significant because police said that when they entered Aurobindo Bhavan during the night after being contacted by university authorities, they found around 50–60 people inside. Police said they asked the group to leave and subsequently removed outsiders from the campus.

The confrontation then spread beyond the meeting itself. There were allegations of stone-pelting, fires being lit at different points of the campus, vandalism and attempts to enter university buildings. The competing political groups have blamed each other for the escalation, and the precise sequence of events remains under investigation.

The latest legal development has added another serious dimension to the case. Police have begun an investigation against 11 people, with charges including an attempted murder, according to a report published by News18 Bengali on Thursday. The case also includes multiple other criminal provisions.

An earlier complaint filed by third-year Computer Science and Engineering student Aritra Sarkar named 11 people and invoked provisions of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita as well as Sections 3(1)(r) and 3(1)(s) of the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act. The latest reporting indicates that the police investigation has now expanded to include the more serious allegation of attempt to murder.

The filing of a case and inclusion of serious criminal sections, however, do not establish the guilt of those named. The allegations will have to be tested through the police investigation and subsequent legal proceedings.

The violence has also produced a continuing political confrontation outside the university. On Thursday, ABVP marched from the Golpark side towards the university, while SFI organised its own demonstration from the 8B bus stand. Police attempted to keep the two groups separated, but both sides reportedly breached barricades at different points, resulting in fresh scuffles.

At the 8B bus stand, SFI leaders and supporters held a demonstration and accused ABVP of bringing outsiders onto the campus. ABVP, for its part, continued to maintain that its members had been attacked first during the FETSU meeting. The two sides have therefore continued to present competing narratives around the incident.

The political fallout intensified further on Thursday evening, with SFI leader Dipsita Dhar directly targeting the BJP MLA over the Jadavpur violence. Reacting to the day’s developments, Dhar said, “আপদ সরিয়ে বিপদ ডেকে এনেছে মানুষ!” and alleged that the BJP MLA had played a role in creating the situation that unfolded at Jadavpur University. Her remarks add another political layer to an already polarised confrontation, with the Left accusing the BJP and ABVP of deliberately escalating tensions, while the BJP has maintained that ABVP operates independently of the party. The allegation against the MLA remains a political claim and has not been independently established.

The university administration has also moved to investigate the violence. Vice-Chancellor Chiranjib Bhattacharjee has condemned the incident and said an inquiry would be conducted into what happened. The administration has also indicated that security measures would be strengthened, including restrictions on the entry of outsiders after dusk.

The security question is particularly sensitive at Jadavpur University because of the institution’s longstanding emphasis on campus autonomy. The administration has opposed the idea of a permanent police presence inside the campus, while the latest violence has demonstrated the difficulty of maintaining that position when a student dispute escalates into a major law-and-order situation.

Police intervention during Wednesday night’s confrontation came after the university’s pro-vice-chancellor sought assistance. Officers subsequently entered the campus and dispersed people from Aurobindo Bhavan. The deployment continued on Thursday as rival student groups returned to the streets.

The dispute is also closely tied to the unresolved issue of student representation at the university. The FETSU meeting became a flashpoint partly because of disagreement over the status and legitimacy of student-union activity. Left organisations have renewed their demand for student-union elections, while ABVP has questioned the authority under which the meeting was being held.

That institutional uncertainty has added another layer to the ideological rivalry between the Left and ABVP on the Jadavpur campus. Student politics has historically been a major feature of university life, with Left organisations enjoying a longstanding presence and ABVP seeking to expand its influence. The latest confrontation shows how a dispute over student representation can quickly become intertwined with a larger struggle over political space.

The violence also follows other recent political controversies on the campus, including disagreements surrounding a proposed screening of The Bengal Files. Although that controversy is separate from the present clash, the sequence of events reflects the increasingly charged atmosphere surrounding political activity at the university.

By Thursday evening, the situation had moved considerably beyond the original FETSU meeting. What began as an argument over a student gathering had resulted in injuries, police intervention inside the campus, rival protests, repeated clashes with security forces, allegations of outsider involvement, reported damage to university property and now a criminal investigation involving 11 people under serious charges.

The investigation will be crucial in establishing what actually happened during the initial confrontation and who was responsible for the subsequent violence. CCTV footage, eyewitness accounts, medical records, university documents and evidence regarding the people who entered the campus are likely to be important in determining the sequence of events.

For Jadavpur University, the immediate challenge is to prevent another escalation and restore normal academic activity. But Thursday’s developments have made clear that the dispute is no longer confined to a student meeting. With rival organisations continuing to mobilise, police maintaining a significant presence and a serious criminal case now underway, the university remains at the centre of a rapidly developing political and law-and-order controversy