New Delhi: Several students were injured in violence at the Jadavpur University campus in West Bengal after a dispute over a General Body Meeting (GBM) between the Akhil Bharatiya Parishad (ABVP) and Students Federation of India (SFI) Wednesday night, Kolkata Police said.
In videos that have gone viral on social media, bike-borne men were seen entering the college campus with sticks and batons, raising slogans. In another video, a man can be seen tearing down posters of Left-backed students and setting them ablaze near the university’s office building, Aurobindo Bhawan. ThePrint could not independently verify the videos.
The dispute was over a GBM called by the Faculty of Engineering and Technology Students Union (FETSU). The ABVP—which is the student wing of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS)—claimed that Left supporters attempted to constitute the Union unilaterally. ABVP further alleged that the “general body was called even though there are no official union representatives in the university”. No student elections have taken place at Jadavpur University in the past six years.
West Bengal Urban Development and Municipal Affairs Minister Agnimitra Paul called the clash an “ideological battle against Dimagi Naxals”.
“I pray for the speedy recovery of ABVP student Nikhil Das and everyone injured at Jadavpur University. The ideological battle against the ‘Dimagi Naxals’ will continue”, she wrote on X.
I pray for the speedy recovery of ABVP student Nikhil Das and everyone injured at Jadavpur University.
The ideological battle against the “Dimagi Naxals” will continue.#JadavpurUniversity #ABVP #NikhilDas #StudentSafety #Peace #Recovery #CampusSafety #AgnimitraPaul
— Agnimitra Paul BJP (@paulagnimitra1) August 20, 2026
Calling the violence unfortunate, Jadavpur University Vice-Chancellor Chiranjib Bhattacharjee said that “if required, there will be a round-the-clock police posting inside the campus”. He added that an inquiry will be initiated to ascertain who started the violence.
Kolkata Police in a statement said that upon being alerted about the clash, they entered the campus and “removed the outsiders”, adding: “No complaint has yet been received from the other side regarding this incident.”
However, it said that after the midnight altercation, Jadavpur MLA Sarbori Mukherjee along with BJP supporters filed a complaint at Jadavpur police station. “Aritra Sarkar (BE, CSE, 3rd year, from Murshidabad), one of the supporters, submitted a written complaint…,” read the statement. The complaint invoked BNS sections related to rioting, causing grievous hurt, assaulting public servants, endangering sovereignty.
Bikes, sticks & slogans
Jadavpur University student and SFI member Pavel Dev told ThePrint that a GBM was called Wednesday by the Engineering and Science department students. “It was a general discussion where students spoke about their issues and what could possibly be a way ahead.”
The meeting began around 5 pm and was ongoing when ABVP and Nationalist Students’ Front (NSF) members allegedly entered the campus around 9 pm and started raising slogans, Dev said.. “They had batons and sticks and they began shouting. Until then there was no issue at all.”
More bike-borne men allegedly entered the campus around 12 pm. “These men were not students. They were threatening us, tearing posters and lighting fire. Around 3 am, some of them even went to the main hostel around the campus and started hitting on the doors with rods and sticks,” Dev added. “In one instance, a student who was passing through suffered a severe head injury as well.”
ABVP central executive committee member Shubhabrata Adhikary said the “attack on ABVP members on campus was targeted”.
“During the FETSU GB meeting at Jadavpur University, our workers including Nikhil Dev and 10 other members were brutally attacked. The Left wing students made several attempts at murdering our members and even brutally assaulted one member for being from a backward caste,” Adhikary alleged.
Several students including the ABVP’s Jadavpur University unit president Nikhil Das and at least five SFI members were injured and taken to nearby hospitals.
Police probe
Kolkata Police in their statement said: “During the meeting, Left-wing supporters reportedly attempted to constitute the Union unilaterally. This move was opposed by ABVP supporters, namely Diptiman Kar and Nikhil Das (president of ABVP). Following this opposition, a physical altercation reportedly occurred between the two groups of students, both inside the campus. The injured ABVP members, Nikhil and Diptiman, were taken to KPC Hospital, Jadavpur, for treatment.”
The police further said that after they received information about a “ruckus” on campus, “the Officer-in-Charge (OC) of Jadavpur Police Station attempted to contact the Vice-Chancellor and other university officials but was unable to reach them”.
“Later, a complaint regarding the disturbance inside the campus was received via Dial 100. The Pro-Vice-Chancellor also contacted Jadavpur PS officer and requested police assistance inside the campus,” the statement read.
Subsequently the police entered the campus and “removed the outsiders” and noted that “some posters and festoons had been torn and burned outside Aurobindo Bhawan”.
While students associated with FETSU said they had to take refuge inside Aurobindo Bhawan for their safety, the police said that they asked 50-60 students inside the building “to come out, but they refused to leave”.
While the police said a team has been stationed on campus for round-the-clock monitoring, ThePrint has learnt that both student bodies have called for agitations in connection with the violence.
Enough is enough. Students will not be silenced by violence.
In protest against the brutal attack on ABVP activists at Jadavpur University, ABVP organised a strong protest rally demanding accountability, student safety, and an end to campus violence.
The message was clear:… pic.twitter.com/c5g7jqNKFY
— ABVP (@ABVPVoice) August 20, 2026
(Edited by Gitanjali Das)
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