Clashes happened at Jadavpur University in Kolkata on Friday, hours after protests over screening of Vivek Agnihotri's 'Buddha In A Traffic Jam'
Highlights
- Clashes at university hours after screening of 'Buddha In A Traffic Jam'
- 4 BJP workers were detained by students for allegedly molesting girls
- Roopa Ganguly had come to campus demanding release of the 4 men
A day after massive chaos and clashes at Kolkata's Jadavpur University campus, students plan to take out a protest march this evening. Clashes happened on Friday evening as BJP workers, led by party's Roopa Ganguly, gathered at the campus gate and demanded that four party workers, detained by students for allegedly molesting girls on campus, be handed over to them.
Here are the 10 developments in this story
The ruckus happened just hours after a screening of director Vivek Agnihotri's "Buddha In A Traffic Jam" at the university was interrupted several times, before being abandoned about 20 minutes into the film.
Following the screening, a few women students complained of molestation by some "outsiders," after which a group of students apprehended four men, and handed them over to the Vice Chancellor.
Ms Ganguly had come to the campus demanding the release of these four men, claiming that they were being wrongly framed.
The four were later handed over to the police by University authorities. An FIR has been filed against the four alleged molesters by the university registrar, according to reports.
There were protests at the university earlier in the day as well after Mr Agnihotri faced protests from Left-leaning student unions at the university, who had also surrounded his car as he arrived on the campus.
The director tweeted: "Massive protest against me and the film. They are breaking the car apart. Help needed." The screening was organised by a group allegedly backed by the ABVP.
The student protesters say they oppose the film's portrayal of nationalism. There have been similar protests against the film at Delhi's Jawaharlal Nehru University, amid a raging debate over nationalism.
"We do not welcome anybody who preaches violence and preaches Hindu fundamentalism thought in the context of present day India where divisive politics is dividing the people," said a student, Priyasmita.
The film, a political satire, releases on May 13 and stars, among others, actor Anupam Kher, who was scheduled to attend Friday's screening, but cancelled.
Mr Kher had attended the film's screening at the JNU campus in March this year. That was soon after student leader Kanhaiya Kumar, arrested on the charge of sedition, was released on bail and returned to the campus to a rapturous welcome. Speaking before his film's screening, Mr Kher had said, "Someone who has returned on bail is not an Olympic hero."
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