Police Outpost at Jadavpur University Proposed amid Minister’s Vehicle Fiasco and 'Anti-National' Graffiti

The Kolkata Police on Tuesday sent a letter to the Registrar of Jadavpur University regarding the establishment of a police outpost within the campus premises. This move follows the recent chaos surrounding the attack on Bengal Education Minister Bratya Basu’s car by protesting students, who were demanding a meeting with him to urge the urgent conduct of Union Elections on campus. One student was severely injured and had to be hospitalised.

According to reports, the letter requests the university to identify a suitable location for the police outpost. Kolkata Police plans to maintain a 24-hour presence at the outpost once it is set up.

The letter has sparked mixed reactions among the university's students. The Students Federation of India (SFI) has argued that simply setting up police outposts will not guarantee the safety and security of students. On the other hand, students from the Trinamool Congress (TMC) have welcomed the decision, calling it a much-needed development.

"Any university or college campus is fundamentally an academic environment, so the real question is the role of the police or military in such institutions. If the need for a police presence is truly necessary, the ruling TMC government should first establish outposts at campuses where their party-affiliated students frequently engage in violent clashes, which often result in daily injuries. Once safety and security are ensured at those campuses, only then should attention be turned to Jadavpur University," said Anustup Chakravarty, a research scholar at Jadavpur University.

Members of the Students Federation of India (SFI) have expressed concerns about the effectiveness of police posts in ensuring safety. "I believe police posts shouldn’t be established on university campuses. For instance, when a first-year student was ragged to death, the police could not do much, and some of the culprits are still free. This shows that police presence alone doesn’t ensure safety. It seems like a tactic by TMC and BJP to interfere with campus affairs. Jadavpur Police Station is just a stone’s throw away; if the police truly wanted to ensure security, they could have acted, like preventing ABVP members from vandalising our flags. The presence of a police outpost doesn’t guarantee safety," said June Guhathakurta, a member of SFI.

In contrast, students from the Trinamool Congress (TMC) have welcomed the decision. "We completely support the implementation of security within the campus, as it is necessary to ensure a secure academic environment. If the Education Minister himself isn't safe, how can students be expected to feel secure?" said Kishalay Roy, the President of the Trinamool Congress unit at Jadavpur University.

Meanwhile, members of the Nationalist Students Front (NSF) also expressed support for the move. "We, the students of the Nationalist Students Front of Jadavpur University, welcome this move. As we’ve stated before, to prevent unlawful activities like anti-national graffiti and slogans on campus, we need 24/7 monitoring and CRPF deployment to ensure student safety. Some students have been physically and mentally harassed and socially boycotted. With police presence now on campus, we feel much safer. We fully support this action, as the Maoist-Naxalite nexus on campus had made us feel unsafe. This brings a sense of security, and we wholeheartedly welcome it," said Somsurya Banerjee of the Nationalist Students Front.

Jadavpur University has been in turmoil since March 1, when West Bengal Education Minister Bratya Basu's vehicle was attacked by protesting students inside the campus. The incident occurred while Basu was attending a meeting of the West Bengal College and University Professors’ Association (WBCUPA), an organisation affiliated with the ruling Trinamool Congress (TMC). The students, primarily from left-aligned organisations, were protesting against the delay in holding Student Union Elections at the university and demanded a meeting with the Minister. Tensions escalated when their requests were reportedly denied, leading to an intense protest. The protest turned violent when students threw shoes at Basu’s car, shattered its windshield, and raised slogans. The unrest peaked when the Minister’s car reportedly drove over a group of students, injuring one, who was later hospitalised.

Further escalating tensions graffiti reading "Azad Kashmir," "Azad Manipur," and "Azad Ladakh" was foound on campus walls. Many have raised concerns that these acts reflect growing anti-national sentiments, leading to calls for police intervention. In response, the Kolkata Police registered a case under Section 152 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) and launched an investigation. A suo motu case has been filed against members of the Progressive Democratic Students' Federation (PDSF) and unidentified individuals under Sections 152 and 61/2 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), which penalises acts threatening India’s sovereignty, unity, and integrity. Investigators are now reviewing CCTV footage and other evidence to identify those responsible.