Siliguri, May 28: Violence broke out on the sprawling North Bengal University (NBU) campus at Raja Rammohanpur last night as rival students organisations clashed and vandalised hostels, causing the district rapid action force to rush in at 3 am.
Sources said the recently-formed Kamtapur Students’ Organisation, the students’ wing of the Kamtapur Peoples’ Party, had held a meeting on the university campus in the afternoon. This had led to some arguments with the Students’ Federation of India and later in the evening the two student bodies brought out rallies. As night fell, a heated exchange of words took place between the members of the SFI and KSO in one of the hostels, triggering a massive fight.
The night-long violence was brought to a halt only after the RAF stepped in early in the morning. A KSO leader, seriously injured in the head, was admitted at North Bengal Medical College and Hospital (NBMCH).
Speaking to The Telegraph, KPP founder-president and party spokesman Atul Roy said: “The KSO activists last evening had organised a meeting to carry out a recruitment drive, when a large numbers of SFI activists arrived on the scene and started protesting. An argument ensued and the SFI activists assaulted our boys. The fight then spilled over to the two boys’ hostel, including Vivekananda and Ramakrishna.”
Roy said he rushed to meet vice-chancellor Pijush Kanti Saha and hostel superintendent Mahesh Chakravorty after receiving an SOS from the student leaders.
“By the time university officials reached the spot, six KSO activists had already been beaten up. Sushil Burman had to be rushed to NBMCH with major head injuries,” claimed Roy.
The KPP leader also alleged the SFI was trying to use its clout on campus and not allow the KSO to function in a democratic manner.
When contacted, the hostel superintendent confirmed that several rounds of fights between the two students’ bodies had taken place and a student had been admitted with head injuries to the NBMCH.
District SFI leaders, on the other hand, denied that its members were involved in any clashes with the KSO.
Instead, SFI state vice-president Shankar Ghosh slammed the KPP for instigating trouble on campus and trying to vitiate the peaceful academic environment by bringing armed anti-social elements.
Echoing Ghosh, SFI Darjeeling district secretary Dibakar Roy said: “We met the vice-chancellor today and submitted a letter expressing our apprehension of further trouble on campus. We have urged him to restrict the entry of anti-social elements into the university premises.”
The KSO had also submitted a written complaint against the SFI and lodged an FIR with the Matigara police against the attack on their leaders. No one, however, has been arrested so far.
The vice-chancellor was not available for comments.
