Not Involved in 15 Jan Visva Bharati Violence, Claims ABVP

Two students of the University were beaten up by masked men, allegedly from the ABVP, with rods and lathis.

Two students of West Bengal’s Vishwa Bharati University, one belonging to the SFI, were attacked, allegedly by masked goons, in the University campus on the evening of 15 January 2020.

(Photo: The Quint)

The ABVP national organising secretary (East) Sunil Ambekar on Sunday, 19 January, said that the student organisation was not involved in the 15 January unrest on the campus of the Visva Bharati university.

He dared those linking the ABVP to the violence on the university campus to prove their charge.

Asked about Students Federation of India (SFI) allegations that ABVP was behind the violence, Ambekar told reporters “they (left students) fight among themselves and then link ABVP with that.”

Two men, Achinta Bagdi and Sabir Ali Khan, were arrested and remanded to 14 days’ custody on Thursday, 16 January, in relation with the attack on two students of West Bengal’s Vishwa Bharati University.

The students, one belonging to the Students Federation of India (SFI), allege that the masked attackers belonged to the ABVP. They further allege that when the injured students were taken to the hospital, the attackers struck there too.

Saptarshi Sarkar, national secretary of the ABVP, has told The Quint that the two arrested have no links with the organisation and the attack is, in fact, the handiwork of the Trinamool Congress.

A case regarding the incident was filed at the Shantiniketan Police Station.

Students allege that members of the ABVP had been coming to the campus over the last few days, making their entry with the Vice-Chancellor’s car.

However, they say, things came to a head on 15 January when in the evening, a gang of people entered the Vidya Bhavan Boys’ Hostel and started issuing various threats to students.

The students were allegedly asked if they were involved in gheraoing BJP leader Swapan Dasgupta on 8 January and were threatened and pushed around if they said yes.

Later, students say, economics department student and SFI leader, Swapnanil Mukherjee and Santhali department student Debabrata Nath were picked up from the front of the senior boys hostel and taken towards the Chancellor's bungalow.

A group of people, with their faces covered in masks, reached the spot. They then hit the two with rods and lathis.

The students further claim that the Vishwa Bharati security officer, who reached the spot, allegedly said that he doesn't know and couldn't do anything about the situation. He is also supposed to have said that an FIR will be filed against the two attacked students.

The ABVP has denied any involvement with the incident and has instead said that their members were attacked by the SFI.

“We were objecting to outside students from Jadavpur University and JNU coming to the hostels. It is then that the SFI students attacked us”, said an ABVP student to Bengali news channel ABP Ananda.

SFI students have been protesting at the University since the incident.