Kolkata: Protesters paint ‘Anandabazar Patrika’ office saffron after row over headline

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...

Read more