Kolkata, Jan 5 (IANS): "Astonished and horrified" at the violence unleashed against students and teachers of the Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) by masked miscreants, the Jadavpur University Teachers'Association (JUTA) on Sunday called upon all sections of society to condemn the "heinous act".

In a statement, JUTA General Secretary Partha Pratim Roy urged the JNU authorities to restore normalcy, and the Central and Delhi governments to take "urgent action" to stop the "violence and bloodshed".

"JUTA is astonished and horrified at the violence unleashed against students and teachers of JNU by masked miscreants armed with sticks, rods, stones, and other implements which they are using with impunity inside the university, including inside hostels," Roy said.

"This horrifying act is apparently being carried out in the presence of police personnel," the statement said.

Roy said reports he received from acolleagues and friends' within JNU seem to indicate that "the goons owe allegiance to one particular political party".

"No words are strong enough to condemn this heinous act, which is apparently still under way.

"The JUTA calls upon all sections of society, especially students and teachers, to condemn this act," he said.

"If our universities and those who study and work in them cannot be protected from such atrocities, how can we claim to be a civilised nation?" Roy wondered.

Violence swept the JNU on Sunday as several masked individuals, both male and female, thrashed students, including girls, and teachers inside the varsity campus with wooden and metal rods.

Two officer-bearers of the Jawaharal Nehru University Students Union (JNUSU), including President Aishe Ghosh - who was reportedly hit over the eye with an iron rod, received severe injuries. They blamed RSS' student wing Akhil Bharatiya Vidhyarthi Parishad (ABVP) for the rampant violence in the campus.