Students of Jadavpur University stayed away from classes and did not write their exams on Monday.

At least three students’ organisations had called for a state-wide students’ strike to protest the bloodshed on the JU campus on Saturday when protesters barricading the state education minister were allegedly hit by his car.

A first-year student, who allegedly came under the wheels of the car, is in hospital. Another student came to the campus on Monday with a bandaged leg.

Students still seemed very angry at the minister’s alleged role. They pledged to continue with the protests, even scale them up.

On the surface, the protest was unanimous at JU.

But several students also expressed concern over the possibility of a prolonged suspension of academic activities.

“I am worried about what happened to a fellow student. I haven’t written Monday’s exam. But if the academic boycott goes on, it will be a matter of concern for us. If the exams get delayed, classes for the next semester won’t start on time,” said a student of the computer science and engineering department who comes from Kamalgazi, on the southern fringes of Calcutta.

Classrooms and exam halls were deserted.

But even some of the students sporting protest badges wondered how long the academic boycott could go on.

A student who hails from Durgapur said: “My parents are worried about the turmoil on the campus. While we stand with Indranuj (Roy, the injured student in hospital), the academic boycott should not continue for long.”

Concerns over academics notwithstanding, the image of a profusely bleeding Indranuj had students seething in rage.

“Lekhapora kore jey, gari chapa pore shey (Study hard and you will come under the wheels),” read a giant banner waved by the protesters, a sarcastic twist to a Bengali proverb.

The Students’ Federation of India, the students’ wing of the CPM, shut the gates of several departments like English and International Relations, and hung posters that carried a purported image of Indranuj under the minister’s car.

A poster stuck on the collapsible gates at the entrance of the departments read: “Er poreo tora class korbi? (You will attend classes even after this?)”

Many students, who stayed away from exams, sported badges. “Rise against TMC hooliganism and the attack on a first-year student of the university”, a badge read.

Students from departments like computer science and engineering and electronics and telecommunications were seated on a bench outside Prayukti Bhavan, one of the exam venues.

Indranuj was part of an outfit called the Revolutionary Students’ Front (RSF), the students’ wing of the Communist Party of India (Maoist), which is equally opposed to the CPM and the Trinamul.

Asked about the new-found solidarity with the RSF, Subhodeep Bandyopadhyay, a member of the SFI state committee who was leading the protests on the campus, told Metro: “We are protesting the attack on a student who had raised a demand about the resumption of campus elections that have been stalled by the state government. This is the demand of every student. When a student fighting for a legitimate cause gets run over by the education minister, we will stand with him irrespective of what his political belief is. We had a spontaneous strike on the campus.”

Education minister Bratya Basu on Sunday regretted the injuries to Indranuj.

Tempers flared up again on Monday evening, as a rally by the ABVP, the RSS’s student wing, tried barging into the JU campus. They faced resistance from the Left outfits at the gates.

The ABVP supporters allegedly tore posters and flags of the Left parties at the gate. A police team intervened and brought the situation under control.

Earlier on Monday, the protesting students from the SFI and the AIDSO (student wing of SUCI) forced shut the gates of Aurobindo Bhavan, JU’s administrative headquarters.

Vice-chancellor Bhaskar Gupta did not come to the campus, citing medical advice. “My blood pressure has shot up. I am 64 and have a history of a cerebral attack. The doctors have advised me to rest. My wife is extremely concerned about my health. Until the doctors give me the go ahead, I won’t come,” he told Metro.

A teacher of the humanities faculty said they didn’t want the academic boycott to continue.

“We can understand the sentiments of the students over the attack on a fellow student. But we told them they should not stay away from classes for long. While we appreciate their sentiments, we can’t support the way the education minister was attacked. He was keen to have a dialogue with the students over the campus elections. We want our injured first-year student to come to class as early as possible,” said the professor.