The Calcutta High Court on Wednesday pulled up the city police, citing “intelligence failure” over the fracas in Jadavpur University last Saturday where state education minister Bratya Basu’s car came under attack from protesting students.

“This one incident should be enough for the Special Branch to learn its lesson,” said Justice Tirthankar Ghosh, observing orally that police failure was cause for worry.

“How could such a large group of students gather around the minister’s convoy? The failure of the police could lead to a situation like that in the neighbouring country. If this kind of failure continues it could lead to more serious incidents in the future,” Justice Ghosh said.

The High Court has directed the state government to file a report on what transpired during Basu’s visit to the JU campus last Saturday by March 12, when the matter will come up before the single-judge bench.

"I don't want this to be an example in the rest of West Bengal," Justice Ghosh observed orally.

It would be very difficult to reintroduce discipline among the citizens if such indiscipline spreads across the state, the HC said.

On Saturday evening state education minister Basu went to the Jadavpur University to attend a meeting of the pro-Trinamul WBCUPA (West Bengal College and University Professors Association), when students affiliated with the students’ wings of the Left parties blocked the convoy demanding immediate students’ union elections in colleges and universities. Minister Basu, a former teacher in City College’s Bengali department, is also the association’s president.

Hearing a petition by a group of students aggrieved by the alleged police inaction over their complaints, Justice Ghosh asked if the intelligence wing of the city police had information on the possibility of trouble during the minister’s visit.

In the ruckus, two students, Indranuj Ray and Anubhab Basu, sustained injuries. The police have filed cases against 17 students including Indranuj.

CPM Rajya Sabha MP Bikash Ranjan Bhattacharya, appearing on behalf of the students, told the court that police were silent on the injuries sustained by the students in the two suo motu FIRs they filed. He said the rash and negligent driving by Basu’s driver had caused grievous injury to two of the students, one of whom is undergoing treatment in a hospital.

Bhattacharya said the suo moto FIR claimed that the students damaged the minister's car and his security personnel's vehicle, and assaulted the driver of his vehicle.

The police had also claimed that the students had vandalised the union office and government property inside the campus and caused arson, which was rebutted during a meeting of the teachers’ unions on Monday evening.

The court asked state Advocate General Kishore Dutta why the police did not lodge an FIR on an e-mail complaint by the injured student and then directed the cops to immediately register complaints lodged by the students, including Indranuj.

During the hearing, Justice Ghosh expressed apprehension on the possibility of the increase in the frequency of such incidents with the state Assembly polls scheduled for next year.

Dutta told the court that one person had been arrested in connection with the incident involving the minister.

During Monday’s strike across the state universities called by the students’ bodies of the Left parties, several students sustained injuries and many were arrested.

One of the students’ leaders belonging to the All India Democratic Students’ Organisation, Tanushri Baij of Vidyasagar University in East Midnapore, alleged she was tortured at the police station.

“We were hit with belts, denied water for hours. Wax from burning candles was poured on us. The officer-in-charge instructed other officers to beat us without leaving any marks. When visitors came to meet us that evening, we were told to clean up. Finally we were released from the lock-up at 2am,” she said at a news conference on Wednesday afternoon.

Acting vice chancellor Bhaskar Gupta was rushed to a hospital on Wednesday morning after he complained of high blood pressure.

The protesting students, who had given a deadline of 4pm for Gupta to meet them, were huddled in a meeting to decide the future course of action at the time this report was filed.