Kolkata: Student protests at Jadavpur University (JU) on March 1 – and the violence that followed – led to eruptions across the state, with students accusing the police of siding with the ruling regime in West Bengal and even beating up and harassing female students who were taken into custody.
Police lodged a First Information Report (FIR) on Thursday (March 6) against West Bengal education minister Bratya Basu, his driver Rehan Molla and JU professor Om Prakash Mishra. This follows a Calcutta high court directive a day earlier urging the state administration to formally register a complaint filed by JU student Indranuj Roy, whose email to the authorities was treated as the basis for the FIR.
The matter pertains to incidents on March 1, when Basu faced student protests at JU. Demonstrators surrounded his vehicle, and allegations have surfaced that a student was run over by the minister’s car during the chaos. In response, left-wing student organisations declared a statewide strike in all universities. The situation escalated with continued protests erupting across the state.
The charges invoked in the FIR include attempted murder, assault and outraging the modesty of a woman. The high court has scheduled the next hearing for 4 pm on Wednesday, during which the state government is expected to submit a detailed report on the March 1 clashes.
On March 1, multiple incidents of violence were reported. In several places, ruling party workers – armed and aggressive – attacked student protesters in broad daylight. Women protesters were subjected to sexual harassment openly, even in the presence of police officers.
One particularly shocking incident occurred in Medinipur, where a viral video shows a police officer telling a few young men, belonging to the Trinamool Congress, “Bring them out, we will show them a lesson.” This incident involved Students’ Federation of India activist Sucharita Das, who was dragged out of the campus by those TMC supporters, then forcefully lifted by female police officers and thrown into a police vehicle along with other protesting female students.
Das later recounted her ordeal to The Wire, saying, “We were peacefully campaigning inside our college in support of the student strike. Suddenly, around 200 armed female police officers, led by the local women’s police station IC (Inspector-in-Charge), barged into the college premises. Students surrounded them, questioning why police had entered the college. The police left briefly, but soon returned with ruling party leaders and workers. The police officers then ordered the ruling party men: ‘Drag them out. We will take care of the rest.’”
“As soon as I was pushed outside, TMC leaders assaulted me,” Das continued. “They forcibly lifted me and threw me into a police van, taking me to the police station. There, I was locked in a room without CCTV cameras. Police officers interrogated me aggressively, asking why I was involved in an anti-government movement. They said they had been monitoring us since our ‘Saline Protest’ in December. They beat me so badly that I was left with bruises all over my body.”
“One officer turned on his phone speaker and told me to speak with IC Sathi Barik. The female police officer on the call threatened me, saying, ‘We will beat you one by one, let’s see if your party has anyone powerful enough to bail you out.’”
“When I protested, saying that I was a student activist and had done nothing wrong, they responded with obscene language. The torture worsened. They demanded I sign a declaration stating that I would never engage in politics again. They said they would only release me if I admitted my ‘mistake’,” Das said. “But I refused. I told them my political beliefs do not allow me to sign such a statement.”
She was finally released only at 2:30 am, she said. “I have documented my injuries and am seeking justice through the court. This was purely a politically motivated act of police brutality, aimed at pleasing the ruling party.”
Similar allegations were made by Sushrita Soren, a member of the left-wing DSO (Democratic Students’ Organisation). Soren, an Adivasi student, accused female police officers of brutal torture and casteist abuse. Speaking to The Wire, she said, “Four of us female students were taken to Medinipur Kotwali police station. They questioned us about why we were participating in the strike. We were then taken to a room without cameras, where they started beating us with sticks and belts. Then they removed my hair clip and forced me to sit on the floor with my legs spread apart. Two police officers stood on my legs while another officer pulled my hair violently and another kept beating me all over my body.”
“When they found out that I was an Adivasi, they started hurling casteist slurs. They told us that the police station was large enough to bury us inside if they killed us, and no one would ever know. After exhausting themselves from beating us, they finally let us go,” she continued.
These horrifying testimonies have sparked outrage across the state.
The Superintendent of Police for West Medinipur, Dhritiman Sarkar, denied the allegations, calling them a “politically motivated conspiracy”. He claimed, “These claims are being made by a political party, but no such incidents actually took place.”
However, two separate left-wing student organisations have independently made similar allegations. Das has asked the authorities to conduct an impartial medical examination of the assaulted students, stating that the truth would be revealed if this were done.
CITU leader Madhuja Senroy, allegedly tortured when she was a student activist, said, “The belief that women in West Bengal would receive dignity and protection under a female chief minister has been completely shattered. Incident after incident proves otherwise. In 2017, on March 9, we were arrested for protesting against corruption in teacher recruitment. While being held at Presidency Jail, female SFI activists were subjected to strip searches and abuse. Despite appealing to the State Women’s Commission and the Human Rights Commission, no action was taken, possibly due to political influence.”
On Wednesday night, two more female students were allegedly attacked in Baghajatin, Kolkata, by ruling party councilors and their workers.
Veteran TMC MP Saugata Roy further stoked controversy and said, “The more SFI grows, the more CPM offices will be locked up.”
On Thursday, around 1,000 students gathered at Medinipur College to protest against the police brutality. The movement is gaining momentum across West Bengal.
Veteran leader Asim Chattopadhyay, a key figure in the Naxalite movement of the 1970s, compared the situation to past state oppression. Chattopadhyay, who still bears the scars of police brutality from that era, told The Wire, “Both Jadavpur and Medinipur have deep historical significance. What we are witnessing today is no longer authoritarianism – it is outright dictatorship. This is nothing but the chief minister’s rule of whim. That is why the state police are unleashing such organised violence against students. The more the oppression, the stronger the resistance. I shudder to think about the level of brutality these students have endured.”
The allegations of state-backed police brutality, sexual harassment and caste-based violence against student protesters have led to widespread condemnation. However, with official denials from the police and a firm stance from the ruling party, it remains to be seen how the situation will unfold.
Translated from Bengali by Aparna Bhattacharya.
