Kolkata:
The Kolkata Police, on Thursday, registered FIRs against West Bengal Education Minister Bratya Basu, the driver of his vehicle, and Trinamool Congress leader Om Prakash Mishra over the March 1 ruckus within the campus of Jadavpur University (JU) in which two students were severely injured and hospitalised after being “allegedly and deliberately” hit by the vehicle of the minister.
The FIR was lodged just a day after a single-judge bench of the Calcutta High Court directed the Kolkata Police also to register FIRs based on the complaints of the agitating students of the university instead of just acting on the complaints from Trinamool Congress-affiliated West Bengal College & University Professors’ Association (WBCUPA).
They have been accused under various charges like physical assault, giving threats, among others.
Expressing satisfaction with the development, Amit Roy, father of the two injured students, Indranuj Roy said that in a democratic country, the work of the police administration is to follow democratic practices.
“If that is not done it is against democratic practices. The Calcutta High Court’s order on Wednesday directing the police also to file FIRs based on the complaints of the students, is proof of why people have faith in the judiciary,” Amit Roy said.
On Thursday, besides directing the police to register FIRs based on the complaints of the students, Justice Tirthankar Ghosh also directed the state government to file a detailed report on the matter.
The ruckus broke out within the university campus on Saturday when the Minister’s car was allegedly stopped after it entered the campus, and a scuffle followed. The students were demanding immediate elections for the university’s students’ council.
The agitating students alleged that while Basu decided to leave the campus in the face of the protests, his vehicle deliberately hit the two agitating students, following which they were severely injured and had to be hospitalised.
Amid the protests, the Minister received minor injuries and fell sick. He was taken to the state-run S.S.K.M. Medical College & Hospital and was discharged later.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
