A group of men purportedly associated with Hindutva outfits staged a protest outside the office of newspaper Anandabazar Patrika and painted parts of its white building saffron, The Hindu reported.The protest came days after the newspaper used the phrase “saffron hooliganism” in a headline about the August 20 clash between student groups at Jadavpur University.Videos of the incident, widely shared on social media, showed several police personnel standing nearby as a group of men wearing saffron clothing painted the walls and shouted slogans, such as “Hindustan will not tolerate the insult of saffron”.The newspaper’s authorities repainted the walls to their original colour a few hours later.The men who painted parts of the building have not yet been identified, and no complaint has been filed yet, The Hindu reported.Kolkata: Saffron-clad Hindutva men paint the walls of the iconic Anandabazar Patrika (ABP) office saffron, sloganeering "Bhagwa ka apman nehi sahega Hindustan" in the presence of Kolkata Police. 1:45 PM, 01.09.2026. pic.twitter.com/qckQgPWBrw— Ankita Mahalanobish (@onkeyta_) September 1, 2026
On August 20, a clash broke out between members of the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad and Left-affiliated student groups at Kolkata’s Jadavpur University during a general meeting of the Faculty of Engineering and Technology Students’ Union.The clash continued into the early hours of Thursday. The two sides blamed each other for the violence and accused the other of bringing people from outside the university onto the campus.Several students were injured and taken to a hospital.The Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad is the student wing of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh, the parent organisation of the BJP.In its report, Anandabazar Patrika had described the clashes as “gerua gundami”, or saffron hooliganism.A first information report was filed against the editorial team of the newspaper, including two journalists. On Tuesday, the Indian Women’s Press Corps and the Press Association criticised the filing of the case.“The increasing incidence of registration of FIRs against journalists is disturbing,” a joint statement by the two bodies had said, according to PTI. “It criminalises the journalist and shows disrespect for the role of a free press.”Commenting on parts of the newspaper building being painted saffron, Trinamool Congress Kunal Ghosh said that protests cannot descend into brute force. “Ongoing attacks all around, with governmental support, and such a display of muscle power by uncultured brutes have dealt an ugly blow to Bengal’s image,” he said on social media.Edited by Neerad Pandharipande.
