Clashes broke out between students and the police at Kolkata’s Jadavpur University on Thursday as a group tried to protest against the vandalism of Jana Sangh leader Syama Prasad Mookerjee’s bust in the city’s Kalighat locality.
Some students belonging to the right-wing Hindu Jagran Manch had planned a protest, alleging that the university’s students were involved in the vandalism on Tuesday night, News18 reported. Left-wing students are believed to have disrupted this protest. The Hindu Jagran Manch students accused the opposing group of beating them up, but the other side claimed that supporters of the Manch had hurled abuses at them.
Some policemen were injured in the clashes, reports said.
On Wednesday, the Kolkata Police arrested six people who allegedly damaged and defaced Syama Prasad Mookerjee’s bust in the South Kolkata locality. The six had claimed to be students of Jadavpur University and members of a far-Left group called Radical. They had allegedly used a hammer and a chisel to damage parts of the bust and shouted slogans in protest against communist icon Vladimir Lenin’s statue being taken down in Tripura on Monday.
Limited-time offer: Big stories, small price. Keep independent media alive. Become a Scroll member today!
Our journalism is for everyone. But you can get special privileges by buying an annual Scroll Membership. Sign up today!