West Bengal Governor C.V Ananda Bose, on Friday, assured the vice-chancellors of state-run universities to speak to Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on the issues of increasing incidents of campus violence in the state.

One of the participants in the meeting between the Governor and the vice- chancellors of state-run universities on Friday said that the Governor expressed concern over two issues. “The first issue is rising incidents of campus violence in the state and second is rampant consumption of addictive substances within the campus,” he said.

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The meeting was convened by the Governor in wake of the ruckus within the campus of Jadavpur University on March 1 in which two students were injured and hospitalised “allegedly and deliberately” being hit by the vehicle of the West Bengal education minister Bratya Basu.

He also said that while admitting that in-campus violence happens in other states and that did not mean that the same thing will happen in West Bengal as well.

It is learnt that the Governor during the meeting specially emphasised on the installing of adequate number of CCTV cameras within the university campus and instruction “mental health support services” there.

“There after the Governor said that it is high time that the state government should think seriously on two issues. However, the Governor refused to elaborate on these two issues unless he speaks to the Chief Minister in the matter,” said a participant at the meeting.

It is learned that a total of 18 vice-chancellors were present at the meeting convened by the government. Out of them 10 were present physically, while eight other were present virtually.

The ruckus broke out within the university campus on Saturday when the Minister’s car was allegedly stopped after it entered the campus, and a scuffle followed. The students were demanding immediate elections for the university’s students’ council.

The agitating students alleged that while Basu decided to leave the campus in the face of the protests, his vehicle deliberately hit the two agitating students, following which they were severely injured and had to be hospitalised.

Amid the protests, the Minister received minor injuries and fell sick. He was taken to the state-run S.S.K.M. Medical College & Hospital and was discharged later.