JADAVPUR UNIVERSITY GRAD GETS BAIL AFTER ARREST IN BENGAL MINISTER ATTACK PLOT
KOLKATA, West Bengal, India – August 18, 2025:A court in Kolkata let Hindol Majumdar, a Jadavpur University ex-student, out on bail. He was arrested for supposedly planning an attack on Bratya Basu, West Bengal’s education minister. This news came out on Monday, just five days after Majumdar was picked up at the Delhi airport because authorities were on the lookout for him. Students and teachers rallied in disagreement with the arrest, showing how hotly debated this case is. Majumdar walked free after paying ₹1,000, with his lawyer arguing that the cops weren’t really getting anywhere with their investigation.
How It Started
This whole thing kicked off with a protest at Jadavpur University on March 1, 2025. A bunch of students, mostly from left-leaning groups, swarmed and harassed Education Minister Bratya Basu’s car. They wanted student union elections to finally happen. The police say the minister’s car got messed up, and he was pushed around.
The cops filed a report and started looking into it, later saying the attack was part of a bigger plan organized by people both in India and other countries. They claim Hindol Majumdar, who used to be a student there and is working on his PhD in Spain, was the main guy behind it.
Police Say It Was Planned From Abroad
The police are saying Majumdar and two other people overseas planned the protest from Spain. They said they found damaging WhatsApp messages and social media posts as proof. In court, the prosecution said it was like the 2002 American Center attack in Kolkata, where the big boss, Aftab Ansari, planned everything from Dubai.
Even though Majumdar was out of the country when it happened, the police argued he drew up the plan and gave support to the students who were there. They put out a lookout notice for him in March, and when he came back to India on August 13, they arrested him at the Delhi airport.
Why “Honor” Killings Persist in India
What the Court Decided
After getting arrested, Majumdar went to Alipore court and was held in police custody for three days. The police wanted to keep him longer on Monday, but the court said no.
Majumdar’s lawyer, who had already asked for bail once and got turned down, said the police hadn’t made much progress in those three days. The lawyer also said Majumdar’s name wasn’t even in the first police report. The court seemed to agree and granted bail.
Reactions from the University and Politicians
Hindol Majumdar’s arrest made a lot of people at Jadavpur University angry. Students, teachers, and staff marched from the campus to the police station to show their anger.
The Jadavpur University Teachers’ Association (JUTA) criticized the arrest, calling it revenge and saying it was like turning Bengal into a police state. They wanted Majumdar to be released right away with no conditions. Lots of students and professors are sticking up for Majumdar, saying he’s smart and a mass-movement worker who’s been unfairly targeted. But the Trinamool Congress is saying the law will take its course and that being a good student doesn’t mean you can get away with anything.
BITS Pilani Goa Student Death Shocks Campus
Student Protests Are Normal There
Jadavpur University has a history of student activism and disagreeing with the government, especially from left-wing student groups. Student politics there usually means protests against what the government and the university are doing. The protest with Minister Bratya Basu happened because students wanted student union elections to happen.
A lot of people think the police are trying to shut down people who disagree with them at the university by saying a student planned the attack from another country and arresting him. They also don’t like that the police are relating the student to a terrorist, saying it’s just to make the case sound more dramatic.
What’s Next?
Getting bail is big, but it’s not over yet. The police said letting Majumdar go could make it harder to investigate and wanted him to stay in jail. The case will probably focus on the proof the police say they have, mostly those WhatsApp messages.
Majumdar’s family and lawyers are still saying he was set up. People are paying attention to this case because whatever happens could change how the state deals with student protests in the future.
