Kolkata Court Sends Former JU Student to Police Custody Over Assault on Education Minister

Court Decision on Assault Case

A Kolkata court has ordered the police custody of a former student from Jadavpur University until August 18 in connection with an alleged assault involving West Bengal's Education Minister, Bratya Basu, on the university campus.

The accused, Hindol Majumdar, is currently a researcher at a university in Spain. He was apprehended upon arriving in Delhi based on a lookout circular issued against him.

Meanwhile, representatives from the university's faculty and the opposition party, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), have labeled Majumdar's detention as an act of 'revenge'. Kolkata police brought him to the eastern metropolitan area under transit remand and presented him in a court in Alipore on Friday.

The magistrate denied Majumdar's bail application, extending his police custody until August 18. Authorities allege that Majumdar was one of the main conspirators behind the 'attack' on Basu's vehicle on March 1 within the university grounds.

Basu was at the university's main campus to attend a meeting of the WBCTUPA, an organization supported by the Trinamool Congress (TMC). Upon exiting, he faced protests from leftist groups demanding the prompt conduct of long-overdue student union elections.

Basu accused the demonstrators of assaulting him and vandalizing his car. Conversely, the protesting students claimed that a vehicle in the minister's convoy ran over some of their feet, causing injuries.