On 18th March, Kolkata Police arrested a second-year civil engineering student of Jadavpur University, Souptik Chanda, for allegedly attacking the office of Shikshabandhu Samiti. A former student, Soumyadip Mahata, was held again by the police for graffiti calling for a “Free Kashmir and Palestine.” Mahata is a member of the Democratic Students’ Federation. Notably, he was released on bail in a separate arson case before being arrested again by the police.
Following the arrests, protests erupted, with students alleging political targeting and police bias. Speaking to the media, one of the protesters questioned, “Why isn’t the Education Minister being arrested? Why is there no investigation when a student was injured by his car?”
Mahata has been accused of inciting hatred and disrupting public peace. He has been charged under Sections 61(2) and 152 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS). Notably, on 1st March, West Bengal’s Education Minister, Bratya Basu, was physically attacked by a group of left-wing students at Jadavpur University on Saturday when he was there to attend an event of the West Bengal College & University Professors Association (WBCUPA), an organisation of pro-Trinamool professors. His vehicle was also vandalised.
