Around 40 protesters were injured, including 10 critically, after a march organised by the All India Democratic Students’ Organisation (AIDSO) was allegedly attacked by suspected BJP and ABVP supporters at Bajkul in East Midnapore’s Bhupatinagar on Sunday.
The Left-wing students' organisation organised the march in support of the Delhi movement demanding the resignation of chief election commissioner Gyanesh Kumar. Participants protested the closure of state-sponsored schools, demanding transparent recruitment of teachers and abolition of the semester exam system from the higher secondary level in schools, among other issues.
The AIDSO protesters were marching towards the venue of the first conference of its East Midnapore South organisational district committee when they were assaulted around 9am.
According to AIDSO, more than 100 students were taking part in the march. A group of youths allegedly surrounded them and launched a brutal assault.
Several attackers had covered their faces with masks or towels and carried knives and bamboo sticks, AIDSO protesters alleged.
The organisation alleged that the attackers forced the students to chant “Bharat Mata ki Jai” while beating them randomly.
The incident took place on the Bajkul-Bhagwanpur state highway, unleashing panic among students and nearby residents.
The injured protesters were initially taken to the nearby Bhagwanpur Block Primary Health Centre.
Critically injured protesters were later shifted to the Tamralipto Medical College and Hospital in Tamluk, East Midnapore, for advanced treatment.
The AIDSO has lodged a written complaint with the East Midnapore district superintendent of police and the district magistrate, seeking immediate action against those responsible for the assault.
The organisation also alleged that its office was vandalised and set on fire and that the stage erected for the scheduled conference at the Sri Ramakrishna College of Education in Bajkul was vandalised. The private college awards diplomas in elementary education.
Among those injured were AIDSO state committee treasurer Surajit Samanta, state secretary and board member Pintu Das, state committee members Nirupama Bakshi and Dipankar Pal, and East Midnapore South organisational district convener Laxman Chandra Ghorai.
“The students who were coming in a procession to attend the conference were brutally beaten by miscreants associated with the local BJP leadership. The barbaric assault and vandalism continued for a long time because the police arrived late,” Ghorai alleged, adding that the student organisation’s office was vandalised and set on fire and that the conference stage was damaged.
BJP's Bhagabanpur MLA and minister Santanu Pramanik, however, denied the allegations against the BJP, claiming that the sloganeering in the AIDSO procession had provoked an organic reaction from local youths.
“Objectionable statements were made by participants in the procession," Pramanik alleged.
"Local boys may have reacted to such statements, and there may have been some trouble. The law will take its course. The police will conduct an impartial investigation and take action. However, the BJP is in no way involved in this incident,” Pramanik claimed.