Former Jadavpur University student arrested for setting TMC’s Shiksha cell office on fire

Former Jadavpur University student Md Sahil Ali was arrested late Saturday night from his rented flat in Bijoygarh for allegedly vandalizing and setting fire to the Trinamool Congress-backed Shiksha Cell office on campus. Ali, who works in an IT firm and hails from Birbhum’s Mohammed Bazar area, was identified through video footage and eyewitness accounts. His arrest follows violent clashes on Saturday, during which Education Minister Bratya Basu was heckled, his car was damaged, and multiple professors were injured.

The unrest erupted when students, primarily from Left-affiliated organizations, demanded an immediate announcement of student union election dates. Minister Basu, who was attending a West Bengal College & University Professors’ Association (WBCUPA) event, stated that he could not confirm the dates without consulting officials. Protesters gheraoed him, leading to chaos in which the windscreen of his car was smashed. A student, Indranuj Roy, was seriously injured after reportedly falling in front of the minister’s convoy and is undergoing treatment at KPC Hospital. Following the minister’s departure, agitated students stormed the Shiksha Cell office, ransacked it, and set it on fire.

A forensic team is expected to visit the site, and security around the campus has been heightened. Police have filed five FIRs and made one arrest so far. Vice-Chancellor Bhaskar Gupta was confronted by protesters when he visited Roy at the hospital, with students accusing him of inaction over union elections. "Holding students union polls is in the domain of the higher education ministry. However, we have repeatedly taken up the issue with the government," Gupta said. Meanwhile, Left-affiliated student unions have called for a strike on Monday, demanding action against Basu and immediate student elections.