Shock over student’s injury at Jadavpur University from being run over by Bratya Basu's car
Telegraph | 3 March 2025
Students, teachers and ordinary citizens expressed anguish at how a minister’s car ignored students who could be under its wheels and drove through.
One of the students clinging to state education minister Bratya Basu’s car in protest at Jadavpur University on Saturday afternoon was flung away as it picked up speed. He fell in front of its wheels.
Indranuj Roy was admitted to a hospital with a fracture and head and eye injuries.
His father, a senior official at Calcutta University, spoke with composure that belies such a situation. He expressed hope that Indranuj will be home in a few days.
Pictures that emerged from the hospital showed Indranuj’s heavily bandaged left eye.
Aparna Bhattacharya, a guest lecturer at Jadavpur University, who shared a video of the accident on Facebook, wrote: “Whatever the education minister says, this video is not lying. This video makes it clear that the car of the education minister is running over a student while speeding away. The education minister, the guardian of all students, without even bothering to check what happened to the student by getting out of the car, is fleeing the campus after running him over. He ran his car over him despite knowing what the consequences could be. He does not deserve to be an education minister...”
Mousumi Das wrote on Aparna Bhattacharya’s Facebook wall: “On the contrary he got himself admitted to SSKM.”
A young woman from another city college in a social media post condemned the “arrogance of the beacon” of a minister who was “once an artiste”.
She wrote: “It astounds me as to how people still do not realise the Fascist state machinery that controls every inch of our being. Universities like JU are not breeding grounds for ‘useless protests’ or filled with ‘students who don’t want to study’. They are the last remainder of what a free liberal space should look like. Wake up and confront your reality.”
One Subhodeep Kumar wrote on Bhattacharya’s wall: “What? This is horrendous. How could he do this?”
The Jadavpur University Teachers’ Association said in a statement: “While our students were placing their demands about campus elections before the minister, some Trinamool goons assaulted the students. Even the car of the minister ran over the first-year student, Indranuj Ray. We are strongly protesting this. We want the university authorities to take action.”
Parthapratim Roy, the secretary of the teachers’ association who signed the statement, said: “The state government has stalled the campus elections by force. This won’t be tolerated.”
There was a debate over the importance of a university offering a democratic space to all political beliefs. Both Trinamool and the Left played the victim card there, blaming the other for stifling “democracy”.
JU vice-chancellor Bhaskar Gupta, who was seated next to minister Basu while the students barricaded the latter, said he failed to understand why the students were trying to disrupt the meeting of the West Bengal College & University Professors’ Association (WBCUPA).
“The organisation was holding its meeting after taking due permission from the university authorities. I could not understand why the students had to meet him today itself. They could submit a memorandum to him containing their demands later. How could the minister meet 40 students on the campus on Saturday to discuss their demands?” Gupta said.
Manojit Mandal, a JU professor, said: “Many of our teachers were assaulted by the students. They wanted to disrupt our meeting and heckle the minister. Om Prakash Mishra, a professor of the international relations department, was heckled by the students.”