Bengal Education Minister reaches out to parents of Jadavpur University student hit by his car

West Bengal Education Minister reaches out to parents of student injured by his car at Jadavpur University.

West Bengal Education Minister Bratya Basu has reached out to parents of the student who came under the wheels of his car at Jadavpur University (JU) and expressed grief about how the events unfolded at the institution. 

The father of the injured student, Amit Roy, a non-teaching staff at Calcutta University, said Mr. Basu had reached out to them on March 3 and expressed grief. “Mr. Basu wished my son a speedy recovery,” Mr. Roy said.

The father, who had come to pay a visit to his son at the hospital, said he urged the Minister to re-evaluate the allegations being raised against his son about the alleged attack on Mr. Basu. Mr. Roy added, “I have also urged him to continue reasonable dialogue with students.”  

This move by the Minister was welcomed by the parents of the injured student. 

Mr. Roy said adults must show “restraint” and “maturity” when dealing with “immature” and “emotionally charged” young students to ensure reasonable dialogue. 

Mr. Basu told the local media, “It is okay for us to get injured. But the student getting injured was undesirable.” 

In contrast, many factions of the ruling Trinamool Congress said the video of the student being hit by Mr. Basu’s car was “fake” and “morphed”. Senior party leaders also hit back at the student on various occasions.