13 Kolkata students held for demonstrating, released

At least 13 students from various city colleges were taken into preventive detention for some time Friday for staging protests to show solidarity with Jadavpur University students who earlier subjected to an alleged police crackdown, police said.

The students had gathered around a Durga Puja marquee in Salt Lake area and were staging a street play and shouting slogans to extend support to Jadavpur students who have been demanding the removal of Vice Chancellor Abhijit Chakrabarty when they were taken into custody.

"We have taken 13 students who were staging a demonstration under preventive detention. After questioning they were released," said an officer of Bidhannagar North Police station.

The students asserted they were demonstrating peacefully and alleged the police action on them was indicative of the administration's "growing excesses" on the students.

"We had organised a similar protest at Maddox Square Thursday and doing the same here Friday. Despite our protests being peaceful, we were taken into custody. This is reflective of the administration's bid to suppress our movement," said one of the students.

"Apprehensive of the students standing up against this government's excesses, police are being used to forcibly stifle the voices of protests," said another.

Demanding an independent probe into the alleged molestation of a female pupil, the university students Sep 16 had confined Chakrabarty in the University premises and staging protests when the alleged police crackdown took place which resulted in several of the students getting injured.

While the police and West Bengal Education Minister Partha Chatterjee have denied the students were baton charged, thousands of students, alumni and eminent personalities September 20 took out a street march demanding the VC's resignation and condemning the police crackdown.