First-year Jadavpur University student Saumyadip Mahato, 19, was arrested
on Wednesday night for allegedly being one of those who set fire to the office of the
Trinamool-backed non-teaching employees’ union on the university campus on March 1.

“There are reasons to believe that the student was involved in setting fire to the union office inside the campus on March 1,” a senior police officer said late on Wednesday night.

“He will be produced before the court on Thursday,” the officer said.

A section of the union members had alleged that the union office was targeted twice during the violence that followed state education minister Bratya Basu’s visit to the campus on March 1.

Basu went to the campus to attend the annual general meeting of a pro-Trinamool teachers’ organisation.

“The office was attacked twice. Around 7pm, it was vandalised. At 10pm, it was set on fire,” Binay Singh, president of the JU unit of the non-teaching employees’ union, said.

Earlier, the police had arrested Mohammad Sahil Ali, 25, a former engineering student of JU now working for a software company, on the charge of alleged arson on the campus on March 1.

On Wednesday, an Alipore court granted Ali interim bail against ₹5,000.