A clash broke out between members of the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad and Left-leaning student groups at Kolkata’s Jadavpur University during a general meeting of the Faculty of Engineering and Technology Students’ Union on Wednesday, continuing into the early hours of Thursday, The Telegraph reported.

Several students were injured and taken to a hospital, The New Indian Express reported.

The two sides blamed each other for the violence and accused the other of bringing people from outside the university onto the campus.

The Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad is the student wing of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh, the ideological parent of the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party.

The ABVP alleged that members of Left-affiliated student organisations, including the Students’ Federation of India and Democratic Students Organisation-Democratic Students’ Federation, had started the confrontation under the cover of the meeting, The Telegraph reported.

However, the Left-affiliated groups accused the ABVP of bringing outsiders to the campus and indulging in vandalism.

Jadavpur University’s administrative building, Aurobindo Bhavan, was locked due to the escalating tensions, while groups of students gathered outside, PTI reported.

Unidentified persons in the university told the news agency that fires were allegedly lit at several places on the campus.

The ABVP announced a protest on the university campus on Thursday. The Students’ Federation of India also announced a protest rally near the university.

Edited by Neerad Pandharipande.

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