Kolkata Police seeks place inside Jadavpur University to set up outpost
Kolkata: Kolkata Police has sent an e-mail to the Jadavpur University (JU) authorities seeking a place to set up an out post.
This comes after the recent incident of alleged attack on the state Education minister Bratya Basu on March 1 while he had been to the university to attend the annual general meeting of the West Bengal College and University Professors’ Association (WBCUPA). The police have recorded the statement of Education minister Bratya Basu and others in connection with the incident. Based on a complaint by Jadavpur University student Indranuj Roy who was injured during the incident on March 1, the FIR was registered against Basu’s driver, Om Prakash Mishra and others.
“The minister was asked about the entire incident...how he was attacked and other details. The minister’s statement has been recorded,” an official said. Police officers had earlier spoken to Basu’s driver, Rehan Molla and Mishra.
In the e-mail sent to JU, police requested the authorities to provide a piece of land inside university campus for setting up an out post where personnel will be deployed round the clock.
However, it has been mentioned that the police will take this step depending on the current situation. If allowed by the JU administration and land is provided the work will start soon, stated an officer.
The acting Registrar of JU Indrajit Banerjee, has confirmed the receipt of the letter. He reportedly said: “We have received the letter. The letter is under the supervision of the vice-chancellor. However, no decision has been made on this yet. We will act as per the instructions given by the vice-chancellor.” However, controversy cropped up over the e-mail sent by the cops as cops can only enter the university premises if permitted by the vice-chancellor.
It may be mentioned that on March 1, a section of students allegedly belonging to the SFI and other ultra-Left wing associations had gheroad Basu’s car and manhandled him. Later, police registered several cases in connection with the incident and had arrested a former student of JU identified as Sahil Ali who was granted bail recently.
In 2014, police entered the JU campus following the directive of then V-C Abhijeet Chakraborty. This led to a massive student movement across the campus, known as ‘Hok Kolorob.’ As a result of the protests, Chakraborty was compelled to resign from his position as V-C.
