The Joransanko police on Saturday afternoon interrogated Presidency University security guard Santosh Singh, alias Pappu, for three hours even as state industry minister Partha Chatterjee claimed that the entire campus incident was “staged.” He also insinuated that a provocation from inside the campus was responsible for Wednesday’s violence and vandalism.
In other words, the state administration continued its effort to blame the victim in order to shield the Trinamul Congress workers who were allegedly behind the entire incident. Significantly, the police has so far arrested five persons and all of them belong to the ruling party. A few more Trinamul Congress leaders including a councillor had been caught on camera leading the protesters at the gate of the university.
On Friday afternoon, Mr Chatterjee had openly accused Pappu of instigating violence in Presidency University on Wednesday. He had even identified him as a CPI(M) worker.
Hours before Mr Chatterjee made this statement, the police recorded Pappu’s statement.
Late on Friday evening, the police again went to the campus apparently to seek his signature on the statement. However, the university authorities told the police that they would bring him to the police station on Saturday.
The police’s “overzealous interest” in Pappu especially after a senior minister pointed fingers at him sparked fears of his arrest. Therefore, registrar Prabir Dasgupta, head of physics department Saumak Roy Chowdhury and many students went to the police station as a mark of solidarity with him.
Mr Dasgupta and Mr Roy Chowdhury first went to the police station to know why did the police want him again. Prof Roy Chowhdury said that the police assured them that they would not arrest Pappu. Later the two officials accompanied Pappu to the police station at around noon.
After the interrogation, the officer-in-charge of Jorasanko police station Siddhartha Dutta thanked the university authorities for their cooperation.
“ The police asked me about the incident on that day. I am a government employee and I told them whatever I had seen on that day,” Pappu said after emerging out of the police station.
On the one hand, the chief minister called up vice-chancellor Malabika Sarkar and expressed her grief over the incident and extended total support to her, on the other hand, Mr Chatterjee and some other ministers continued to attack the university authorities.
Accusing the registrar of trying to shield Pappu, Mr Chatterjee said: “On one hand the registrar has accused the police of inaction, but when police went to the university to investigate, he did not allow them inside,” he added. Mr Chatterjee also questioned the recovery of a spear form the varsity and wanted to know how it was already present.