Shocking: College student beaten to death in Bengal after he refuses to felicitate minister, 3 arrested

Kolkata: A student was beaten to death inside a college in West Bengal on Friday allegedly during a clash between two groups of students. The incident took place at Sabang Sajanikanta Mahavidyalaya in West Midnapore district. Krishna Prasad Jana, a BA student, succumbed to injuries while being taken to hospital. The student’s friend said he was hit with iron rods and sticks during the clash. [caption id=“attachment_2384312” align=“alignleft” width=“380” class=" “] A photograph of Mahapatra from the website of the West Bengal Accelerated Development of Minor Irrigation Project. Image courtesy-wbadmip.org/[/caption] A report by the Times of India says that the clash took place the student refused to felicitate a state minister on Friday morning. As a response to his death, the Left Front and the Congress have called for statewide protests on Saturday. The Indian Express reports that three persons have been arrested by the police so far. Describing the incident as “sad and shameful”, Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee said police have been asked to take “strict action”. Banerjee claimed the incident occurred as a result of a clash at the union room run by the Congress-affiliated Chhatra Parishad, while Congress leader Manas Bhuniya held the Trinamool Congress backed Trinamool Chhatra Parishad (TMCP) responsible for the fatal attack on Jana. However, the chief minister hinted at factional feuds within the Chhatra Parishad as the cause of the violence. “The incident happened inside the union room. The union is run by the Chhatra Parishad and not by the TMCP. The victim was hit with a bat during the scuffle,” she said. Hindustan Times, in its report , had said that the student was a supporter of the Chhatra Parishad, which holds all 31 seats in the student union in the college. Bhuniya, a former state minister and legislator from Sabong, alleged that TMCP backed “miscreants” had attacked the Chhatra Parishad supporters that led to Chhatra Parishad activist Jana’s death. Education Minister Partha Chatterjee said: “It is the result of a factional fight. He lost his life during the scuffle. My information says the victim was not a college student right now.”

A Chhatra Parishad activist told reporters that the TMCP leaders wanted to felicitate visiting West Bengal minister Soumen Kumar Mahapatra. However, a dispute arose between the two groups over this. Mahapatra and TMCP leaders denied the charges. After the incident, irate Chhatra Parishad members allegedly locked principal Kanailal Padia in his room and blocked the National Highway at Sabong. “I was under lock and key. Students’ unions are linked to this incident. They brought the news. The student expired. I cannot say which student union the perpetrators belong to. I have asked police to take steps,” Padia said. With inputs from IANS