Kolkata:
Mamata Banerjee's Trinamool Congress has stridently denied that the 100-strong mob which vandalised Kolkata's prestigious Presidency University yesterday was made up of activists affiliated to it. But a Trinamool Councillor Partha Basu has been caught on camera at the gate of the university at the time that it was attacked.
The photograph, first aired by Bengali channel 24 Ghanta, shows Mr Basu surrounded by people, some holding Trinamool flags and trying to climb on to the big gates of the university, which were held together by a thick chain. Witnesses later said gas torches were used by the trespassers to force their way in.
While the councillor, who was reportedly part of a protest procession, stood at the gate, students said others forced their way into Bengal's famous education institution armed with spears and sticks, said witnesses, and beat up students and teachers. A young girl said women students were threatened they would be raped.
"They started beating up whichever students they found, they chased girls, and made obscene remarks. The four policemen here took no action. The staff went down to protect students," said the university's Vice chancellor Malabika Sarkar to NDTV. She said that as the attackers were rushing out of the college, they dropped some of their weapons. "One of the things they dropped was a javelin which shows how dangerous they were," she said.
Presidency students are marching right now to Raj Bhawan in protest against Wednesday's attack.
The Trinamool has, in keeping with tradition, blamed its rival, the Left. "This was a planned attack by the CPM," said Trinamool leader Derek O'Brien to NDTV. He said that unlike the Left, the Trinamool does not have a student wing at Presidency University.
Presidency University, set up in 1817 as a college, is among the jewel crowns of Bengal's history and heritage, with many famous alumni. Its famous Baker Laboratory, which has served as the breeding ground of the country's top physicists, was not spared yesterday.
Ms Banerjee's party has been on a vicious offensive since Tuesday evening, when she was heckled in Delhi by student activists affiliated to the Left. They were protesting against the death of a 22-year-old activist in police custody, denounced by Ms Banerjee as "a petty matter."
In the last 48 hours, Trinamool workers have struck with punitive force at Left party offices across the state.