Police seek space for outpost on JU campus to 'maintain safe and secure environment'
Telegraph | 13 March 2025
The city police have sought space from Jadavpur University to set up a police outpost and barracks on the campus to “maintain a safe and secure environment... for smooth academic activities”.
The Jadavpur police station officer-in-charge sent an email to the university’s registrar on Tuesday, saying the police bandobast was essential.
The mail states the need for “a peaceful environment” and “security of all stakeholders, including students, teachers and visiting dignitaries”.
The police have sought a “suitable area” measuring around 4,000 square feet near JU’s gate No. 4.
Kolkata Police commissioner Manoj Kumar Verma said the letter was sent to execute a 2014 Calcutta High Court order.
“We have sought the space in keeping with a high court order in 2014, when classes were disrupted in Jadavpur University.... I would not like to go into what happened at that time. But the high court had passed certain directives about police deployment, and we have sought space from the university to execute the orders,” Verma told Metro on Wednesday. “We gave the letter on Tuesday. Let’s see.”
On March 1, the students allegedly heckled education minister Bratya Basu and demanded an immediate meeting on the pending student elections. They climbed atop the bonnet of Basu’s car and smashed its windshield. When Basu’s vehicle sped past, a student was allegedly hit. He spent several days in hospital and is now recuperating at home.
Hearing a petition on the violence, the high court expressed concerns about students coming so close to a “constitutional authority” and blamed it on the police’s lack of intelligence.
Although there have been several instances where cops have had to intervene at JU, many at the varsity have been opposed to any police presence on the campus.
At a recent administrative meeting, a section of JU officials and students decided that the varsity would stick to its “tradition” of not calling the police to campus. “If the police were to come to the campus at all, they must inform the JU authorities and seek permission,” a senior official said.
The police have sought permission for a permanent post, authorised vice-chancellor Bhaskar Gupta confirmed on Wednesday evening.
“The registrar has received the letter. I have not seen the letter yet. Usually, the university’s executive council meets to decide on such critical issues. If we are to hold a meeting of the council, the university has to seek permission from the state government,” he told Metro.
The police mail to JU registrar Indrajit Banerjee says: “Many incidents have taken place inside the campus in the recent past that have not only effected (sic) the safety and security of students but has also created severe law-and-order disruptions. Most recently, on 01.03.2025, when Hon’ble Minister-in-charge, Education, of West Bengal visited the JU campus... huge law and order problem was created. The situation inside the campus got violent and many people, including students, got injured during the protests.”
It also referred to the high court order of 2014.
On September 16, 2014, top JU officials and teachers had to make a distress call to the police after hundreds of students held them captive for several hours. A force led by then additional commissioner Debasish Roy clashed with students past midnight in trying to make an exit passage for the teachers and officials. It resulted in the students’ Hokkolorob movement that disrupted classes for weeks and culminated in the resignation of then VC Abhijit Chakrabarti.
The then Chief Justice of Calcutta High Court, Manjula Chellur, and Justice Ashim Banerjee said: “Police should be deployed outside the gates and they are empowered to intervene in the event of any untoward incident.”
It also said: “The police can enter the campus if the university authorities send a requisition. The police must be in uniform.”
Days after the order, the police set up posts outside gates 1, 3, and 4 with the JU authorities’ consent.
In July 2015, new VC Suranjan Das took steps to have the police outpost removed.
The 2014 order also said that JU’s guards “should check students’ I-cards at the gates” to prevent the entry of outsiders.