1 hr ago
Admission Dispute Turns North Bengal Medical College Into Political Battleground
A fight broke out at a medical college in Siliguri during student admissions.
A Left-supported student group said members of ABVP attacked doctors and students.
It said some people from outside the college were involved.
One former student said he was hit on the head with a stone.
ABVP rejected this account and said outsiders had entered the campus and raised slogans it considered anti-India.
The two sides therefore gave very different explanations for the clash.
Doctors’ groups said colleges should be safe places for learning and discussion.
The local police officer declined to comment.
A two-day clash erupted during MBBS admission counselling at North Bengal Medical College and Hospital in Siliguri.
AIDSO alleged ABVP members and supporters assaulted doctors, students and interns, including near a police outpost.
An injured former student said a group of more than 40 people attacked him and others near a campus restaurant.
ABVP denied the allegations and accused outsiders of disrupting the campus with anti-India slogans and political discussions.
Doctors’ organisations condemned the violence, while police declined to comment on the incident.
- Who
- Members and supporters associated with AIDSO and ABVP, along with doctors, students, interns and alleged outsiders, were involved in the dispute.
- What
- A two-day confrontation involving alleged assaults, threats and competing accusations occurred during MBBS admission counselling.
- Where
- North Bengal Medical College and Hospital in Siliguri, including Lecture Theatre-1, the campus canteen and a nearby restaurant.
- When
- The trouble began on Wednesday and allegedly continued on Thursday.
- Why
- AIDSO said the violence followed disputes over its admission help desk and distribution of material about Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose; ABVP said outsiders were provoking students with anti-India slogans and political issues.
AIDSO and Doctors’ Groups
ABVP
Cause of the confrontation
AIDSO and Doctors’ Groups
AIDSO said its members were helping applicants with admissions and discussing Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose and Bhagat Singh, not raising anti-India issues.
ABVP
ABVP said outsiders entered the campus while posing as admission helpers and provoked students with anti-India slogans and discussions involving Kashmir, Babri Masjid and alleged Bangladeshi infiltration.
Responsibility for violence
AIDSO and Doctors’ Groups
AIDSO and the West Bengal Junior Doctors’ Front blamed ABVP members and supporters for assaults on doctors, students and interns, allegedly with help from outsiders.
ABVP
ABVP rejected the allegations and said its affiliated medical students were physically intimidated and verbally abused after objecting to the alleged political discussions.
Role of outsiders and campus politics
AIDSO and Doctors’ Groups
Doctors’ groups said alleged outsider involvement reflected a wider threat culture and accused ABVP of forcibly expanding across medical colleges in West Bengal.
ABVP
ABVP maintained that the people identified as outsiders were disrupting the campus, while its leaders said they would respond forcefully if their workers were threatened.
Key facts
- Institution
- North Bengal Medical College and Hospital, Siliguri
- Context
- First-year MBBS admission counselling
- Groups involved
- All India Democratic Students’ Organisation and Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad
- Reported injury
- Former student Dr Apurba Mondal was struck on the head with a stone, according to his account.
- Crowd allegation
- Mondal alleged that more than 40 people surrounded and attacked his group.
- Medical treatment
- Mondal said he and Dr Ram Chandra Sharma received treatment at Siliguri District Hospital.
- Police response
- The local police station officer in charge declined to comment.
Quotes
Dr Sankhadeep Sardar
AIDSO member from North Bengal Dental College and Hospital
“ABVP outsiders and saffron goons assaulted junior doctors, including former and current students, in their workplace while they were distributing pamphlets featuring Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose. They even tried to drive our members out of the campus.”
telegraphindia.com
“The police just stood and watched while a group of over 40 people surrounded us. Even before the situation escalated, we requested the officers to bring in more forces, but they didn’t listen to us.”
telegraphindia.com
Sources
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