Trinamool Chhatra Parishad activists allegedly attacked the student with iron rods as he was leaving the college.
A 12-hour bandh or shutdown called by the Congress is in place in Sabang block of West Bengal's West Midnapore district to protest the killing of a third-year college student allegedly by members of the Trinamool Congress' youth wing.
The bandh is being supported by the BJP and CPIM. "It's a very unfortunate incident. A student lost his life because he refused to felicitate a TMC minister and he was beaten to death by TMC youth workers. This goes to show that jihadi mentality under Mamata Banerjee has percolated down to the college and university politics, particularly championed by the TMC youth wing leaders," said BJP leader Sidharth Nath Singh.
The Congress Chhatra Parishad has also called for a one-hour statewide 'chakka jam' or road blockade protest from 11 am today along with strike across colleges.
Trinamool Chatra Parishad activists purportedly ganged up on Krishnapada Jana, a Congress supporter, on Friday and attacked him with sticks and iron rods as he was leaving the college at Sabang.
Police said Jana died on the way to the hospital.
The Trinamool Chatra Parishad has denied any involvement in the incident. Both the student wings of the Congress and the Trinamool Congress have claimed that Jana was their member.
"The incident is unfortunate but Trinamool Congress Chatra Parishad is not involved. It was some kind of student clash. The principal was locked up. The student died from injuries after he was hit with a bat. The police is investigating. I have said strong action must be taken," Trinamool chief West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee said.
The incident happened around 2:30 pm on Friday at the Sabang Sajanikanta Mahavidyalay after some Congress students reportedly refused to attend a felicitation of West Bengal minister Soumen Mahapatra.
Students supporting the Trinamool Congress and the Congress party had earlier clashed over the issue, reports said.
Mr Mahapatra, the Water Resources Investigation and Development Minister, however has denied that he was even in the area.
TMCP district working president Prodyut Ghosh told the Press Trust of India that the clash was the result of an "internal feud within Chhatra Parishad" and four members of the student union were hospitalised after it.