Red handed: TMC councillor photographed outside Presidency College

Though the Trinamool Congress party has denied any involvement in the rampage in Presidency College on Thursday, TV channels have begun airing a picture of TMC councilor Partha Basu standing at the head of a mob outside the college gate. When asked, the TMC councilor did not deny that he was present at the college during the rampage, but said that he was attacked by SFI goons first. “They just started to hit us, we couldn’t do anything. In fact, we were tried to control the violence,” he said.

Students allegedly belonging to the Trinamool Congress Chhatra Parishad (TMCCP) entered the Presidency College on Wednesday breaking the lock of the main gate and ransacked the historic Baker Laboratory even as the policemen watched like ‘mute spectators’. [caption id=“attachment_694939” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  TMC workers shouting slogans on College Street where Presidency College is located. PTI.[/caption] The Trinamool student wing had organised a protest march against the heckling of Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee and Finance Minister Amit Mitra by SFI supporters in Delhi on Tuesday. Witnesses said that around 11 am, 150 students belonging to the TMCCP broke the lock of the main gate and entered the campus with iron rods, knives, sticks and javeline s. They headed straight to Baker laboratory where students of Physics Department were attending class. They also beat up three students and three teachers. The condition of two students, who received injuries on their heads, was stated to be critical. Some TMC men also reportedly chased girl students across the university campus and threatened them with rape and assault. Students and faculty who approached the police for help, were either ignored or told that they didn’t have the necessary orders to do anything beyond setting up barricades. Earlier on Tuesday, TMC activists reportedly attacked CPI(M) party offices in Kolkata. But, they denied the charges and said that the CPI(M) themselves destroyed their party offices and blamed them. “That is a wild allegation against us,” Mukul Roy had said to questions on the attacks by Trinamool Congress activists in Bengal. He claimed that the protest at Planning Commission was not a demonstration by students as “there were many hired goons above the age of 40.” Now, what will Mukul Roy say? The people who attacked the students of Presidency College, were they students? Or were they from the ruling party?