3 min readMar 5, 2025 09:06 PM IST
First published on: Mar 5, 2025 at 09:05 PM IST
The Calcutta High Court on Wednesday said that Kolkata police’s intelligence branch may have had a “failure” while handling the protests against Bengal Education Minister Bratya Basu in Jadavpur University last Saturday while hearing a matter of alleged police inaction.
Justice Tirthankar Ghosh raised questions about the police’s “one-sided investigation”, and the security of state ministers.
“Events could have been avoided if the police took action. Plain clothes police could have been there. This is a reluctance to work which has penetrated into the police,” Justice Ghosh said.
He added: “If there was an intelligence failure, that also has to be taken into account — what were the preventative measures taken. I am bothered with two things: firstly, whether there was an intelligence failure, and secondly whether the constitutional authority (state education minister Basu) defied an intelligence order and went about with his work.”
Senior counsel Bikash Ranjan Bhattacharya, representing the students of the reputed college in the city’s south, said that the police did not file any cases based on their complaints.
“When the injured students went, complaints were not taken. All complaints taken were against the students. All complaints are of outsiders. Our complaint is a mass complaint. A complaint was sent via email from the hospital by Indranuj Roy but no action has been taken,” Bhattacharya said.
State Advocate General Kishor Dutta submitted that an FIR could not be filed on a mass complaint as there were no contact numbers provided for further communication.
“Complaints of molestation, sexual harassment and an attempt to murder have been registered but no address or mobile numbers are provided for further communication. We have written to the Vice Chancellor of Jadavpur University for the contacts of the complainants, but no reply until now,” he said.
A massive student protest erupted at Jadavpur University on Saturday during Bratya Basu’s visit to the campus, where some students allegedly gheraoed and vandalised the minister’s car and also allegedly physically assaulted him. Basu was later admitted to the SSKM hospital. Several protesters alleged that some students were injured by a vehicle which was part of the minister’s convoy.
Seeking a comprehensive report from the state on the violence, Justice Ghosh observed, “I don’t want this to spread throughout West Bengal like an epidemic. There shouldn’t be a situation like our neighbouring country because of your failure (the intelligence department’s). Election year is coming… these will multiply… I do not want that to happen.”
The court further directed that Indranuj Roy, who was seriously Bratya Basu’s car in JU during the chaos last Saturday, to file an FIR.
The next date of hearing in the case has been fixed as March 12.
Another PIL was filed in the Calcutta High Court regarding the safety and security of the university students. The matter will be heard by the Chief Justice division bench on Thursday, along with the other PILs filed in the matter.
Bratya Basu was on a visit to the JU campus to attend the annual general meeting of the West Bengal College and University Professors Association (WBCUPA). (Express Photo) 
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