JU remains tense after five days of violent clash; Left backed students’ wings demand ex-VC’s suspension

Former Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee also condemned the incident on Monday. She said that the students of JU are her ‘friends’ despite differences of opinion

Even five days after a violent clash that erupted between the supporters of Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) and Left-backed student unions, Jadavpur University remained tense on Monday (August 24, 2026) as both the groups organised rallies, and made several demands to the authority. 

Left affiliated students’ wings including SFI and DSF marched to the main building of the campus- Aurobindo Bhaban and staged another sit-in protest in front of vice chancellor’s office. Their key demand on Monday was to suspend the former vice chancellor of the university and the professor of Mathematics department, Buddhadeb Sau. 

Their demand comes only a day after a purported CCTV footage of Mr. Sau on the night of the incident on August 20 went viral on social media. In the footage, Mr. Sau was seen speaking to the security guards at the gate number 4 and allowing some ABVP and local BJP leaders from outside the university including the ABVP state president Subhabrata Adhikari, election agent of Jadavpur MLA Sarbori Mukherjee, and another pass out student Soumyasurya Banerjee to enter the campus premises. 

“Mr. Sau is also an official part of the RSS-backed teachers’ wing, Akhil Bhartiya Rashtriya Shaikshik Mahasangh (ABRSM). This footage made it clear how he provoked the mob and engineered the clash in the campus. He deliberately allowed outsiders to enter the premises. Therefore, we have demanded the authority to take immediate action against him. He should be suspended and his name should also be included in the FIR,” said a student leader. 

The students also demanded the VC to include a student representative in the independent inquiry panel that has been formed to probe the incident. They have also expressed discontent that no arrest has yet been taken place in the incident so far. 

They have also declared that they will gherao his office if their demands are not fulfilled.

Meanwhile, the ABVP and ABRSM also called a separate rally from Jadavpur to Dhakuria. In this rally, Mr. Sau accused the registrar Selim Box Mandal of leaking confidential information of the university to outsiders to create a ruckus in the university. ABVP leader Nikhil Das, meanwhile, also questioned how the CCTV footage got leaked before the police could access it. 

“We will not let the Left-backed naxals to turn JU into a hub of anti-national activities.; We will continue our fight till they are removed from the campus,” said Mr. Das. 

At around 2 a.m. on Thursday (August 20, 2026), ABVP supporters armed with lathis and sticks stormed inside the university campus and tore and set on fire posters of the Left student’s unions, alleging that their supporters were assaulted by members of the Left student’s unions over a general body meeting of Faculty of Engineering and Technology Students’ Union (FETSU). Later that day, supporters of both groups held rallies inside and outside the university campus, and police put up barricades to prevent rival factions from clashing.

Following the development at least four FIRs have been lodged at the local police station. While Ms. Mukherjee lodged an FIR against Left students for assaulting the ABVP students, the university authority also lodged an FIR over the vandalisation and ruckus at the campus by a mob from outside the campus. Meanwhile, SFI and ABVP themselves also lodged two cross FIRs against each other. 

Meanwhile former Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee also condemned the incident on Monday. She said that the students of JU are her ‘friends’ despite differences of opinion. “The BJP has wreaked havoc at Jadavpur University. The emblem of the university has also been destroyed. Even though I may have differences of opinion with the students of Jadavpur, I respect them,” she said.