Jadavpur University row: Complaint registered against Babul Supriyo

A section of Jadavpur University students participate in protest march against the violence caused in their campus by ABVP supporters during the visit of Union Minister Babul Supriyo, in Kolkata. Pic/PTI

Kolkata: The Arts Faculty Students Union (AFSU) of Jadavpur University has filed a police complaint against Union minister Babul Supriyo, accusing him of misconduct during the ruckus at the varsity on Thursday. The Left-leaning AFSU also lodged a complaint against five members of the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) for assaulting students, including women, and vandalizing university property.

"Various incidents had taken place after the Union Minister of State for Environment, Forest and Climate Change (Babul Supriyo) came to the JU campus in an event organised by ABVP, prompted by ABVP members," the AFSU said in its complaint on Saturday. The complaint named Supriyo as the "prime accused" and also identified five other ABVP members. An officer of Jadavpur Police station confirmed the receipt of the complaint.

Alleging that the minister and his bodyguards had misbehaved with students on Thursday, it read, "A file of a loaded magazine was found on the site of the event, which created unnecessary panic among the students, disrupting the campus life." Surpriyo could not be reached for comments despite repeated attempts.

The AFSU complaint also said that ABVP members "created a ruckus, burnt and destroyed campus property, threw acid bulbs, burnt tyres and pelted stones at the students and beat them up with sticks". The student union was referring to the incident when agitated ABVP supporters assembled outside one of the main gates of the varsity on Thursday evening, after Supriyo was confined in the campus for over five hours. The ABVP members then barged into the campus and allegedly went on a rampage in the union room and arts building.

"Babul Supriyo being the prime accused, some other ABVP members recognised by us until now are..." the complaint said. Asked to comment on the action of AFSU, BJP leader Mukul Roy told PTI, "This is the present scenario in West Bengal, where a union minister, who has been assaulted by students of a university for attending a function at the institute, is named in a police complaint by those who had attacked him without any provocation." He alleged that the police was not taking any action against those involved in the "attack on Supriyo," and instead, accepting their complaint. "We will take appropriate legal action," Roy said.

BJP leader Agnimitra Paul on Friday had filed a complaint at Jadavpur police station against some students but did not name anyone. In her complaint, Paul had said she was with Supriyo when "a section of a rowdy crowd" blocked their way and physically abused her when they were heading to participate as speakers in a "social and apolitical programme" organised at KP memorial hall in the campus.

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