Kolkata
The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has lodged a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) at the Calcutta High Court, requesting a National Investigation Agency (NIA) inquiry into alleged activities of Left-wing extremist (LWE) groups, including Maoists, within Kolkata’s Jadavpur University (JU). The PIL, filed by the BJP’s state spokesperson Rajarshi Lahiri, also references the recent death of a JU fresher and alleges that students with LWE affiliations were involved in the alleged ragging-related incident leading to the death. Lahiri’s PIL further claims that students with LWE inclinations regularly chant Maoist slogans and Azadi (freedom) slogans within the university campus. He also highlights an incident where opposition leader Suvendu Adhikari’s convoy was reportedly attacked by such students when he visited the JU campus after the fresher’s death. The Chief Justice-led division bench of the Calcutta High Court has accepted the PIL, and the case is scheduled for a hearing on the following day. This is the third PIL related to the JU fresher’s demise that has been filed at the court. The first PIL, filed by advocate Sayan Banerjee, calls for the implementation of anti-ragging guidelines set by the University Grants Commission in all state universities in West Bengal, including JU. The second PIL, filed by Trinamool Congress Lok Sabha member Kalyan Banerjee, accuses JU authorities of mismanagement and non-compliance with installing CCTV cameras on the campus. The second PIL also involves West Bengal Governor C.V. Ananda Bose, who, as the chancellor of JU, is also named as a party in the case.
