Jadavpur University has lodged two police complaints and constituted a three-member committee to investigate the violence and vandalism that erupted on its campus after a group of ABVP supporters allegedly entered the university late on August 19.

Several students were injured, fires were reported at different locations and the university’s historic emblem, designed by renowned artist Nandalal Bose, was damaged during the confrontation.

According to university officials, one of the complaints concerns the alleged midnight entry of a group onto the campus, attempts to damage the main gate, the burning of festoons and the locking of students inside one of the university buildings.

“The complaint sought an investigation, and asked the police to prevent recurrence of such incidents on the campus,” an official of the state-run varsity told news agency PTI.

A second complaint concerns the alleged scaling of Gate No. 4, damage to the historic university emblem and the pelting of stones and water bottles.

“Another complaint was lodged in connection with scaling the varsity’s gate number 4, damaging the historic emblem of the varsity crafted by legendary painter Nandalal Bose, and the pelting of stones and water bottles,” Vice-Chancellor Chiranjib Bhattacharya told reporters.

The university has also formed a three-member high-level committee to examine the circumstances surrounding the August 19 midnight incident and the events that followed. The committee will examine the damage to two heritage emblems and submit its recommendations to the police.

The violence followed a meeting of the Faculty of Engineering and Technology Students’ Union (FETSU) on Wednesday. ABVP supporters allegedly entered the campus carrying saffron flags, leading to a confrontation with students from Left-leaning organisations. Several students were injured and required medical treatment, while fires were allegedly set at different points inside the campus.

One of the most striking instances of vandalism involved the university’s emblem, designed by Nandalal Bose in 1955, the year Jadavpur University was established. The emblem consists of a three-flamed lamp surrounded by lotus petals and represents the institution’s pursuit of knowledge, intellectual development and cultural refinement.

The lotus frame surrounding the three lamps was ripped away amid the attempt by a group carrying saffron flags to enter through Gate No. 4. The damaged portion was later found lying outside the gate.

The emblem’s significance is recorded in Lamp in the Lotus, a history of Jadavpur University written by Ramprasad De, Ananda Lal and Amreeta Sen.

The book says: “The university adopted for its common seal and coat of arms a three-flamed lamp encircled in lotus petals, designed by the renowned painter, Nandalal Bose. The emblem symbolised the university’s quest for knowledge. ‘A single lamp representing knowledge bears the three flames representing intellectual training, cultivation of emotions and imagination, and spiritual development. The petals of the lotus on the periphery represent the Fine Arts and Culture’.”

The university’s three broad academic streams—arts, engineering and science—have also been associated with the three flames of the emblem.

“To thousands of students over the years, the seal printed on entrance forms and examination mark sheets has become the repository of their academic endeavours and ambitions,” the authors wrote.

The alleged vandalism has triggered anger among teachers, alumni and former students.

Supriya Chaudhuri, an emeritus professor of the university, directly blamed ABVP supporters for the destruction.

“The historic emblem of Jadavpur University, designed by Nandalal Bose, has been destroyed by ABVP hooligans attempting to invade the campus,” she wrote on Facebook.

“I am sad and disappointed over what has happened. I am feeling so sad that I do not have words to condemn it,” Chaudhuri later told The Telegraph.

Following the violence, Left-leaning student organisations including the SFI and DSO organised a joint march through the campus, protesting the alleged ABVP-led vandalism and the damage to the university emblem.

The controversy also reached the Calcutta High Court, where a lawyer sought urgent judicial intervention to restore law and order on the campus. The plea was mentioned before a Division Bench comprising Acting Chief Justice Tapabrata Chakraborty and Justice Atarup Banerjee.

The lawyer showed the court video clips purportedly depicting a fire on the university campus and urged immediate intervention. The court, however, declined an urgent hearing and refused to tag the matter with an existing case concerning Jadavpur University, directing the lawyer to file a separate petition dealing with the latest incidents.

The latest violence comes against a backdrop of previous concerns over law and order at Jadavpur University, including proceedings before the High Court following the death of a first-year student amid allegations of ragging.

The university’s police complaints and internal inquiry now place the focus on the events surrounding the alleged ABVP entry into the campus, the subsequent violence and the destruction of the Nandalal Bose-designed emblem.