Students across India on Tuesday stood in solidarity against a vicious weekend attack on a prestigious New Delhi university by masked men wielding sticks that led to 40 students and staff being sent to the hospital.

The gruesome three-hour incident occurred between students of Jawaharlal Nehru University, who were protesting a fee hike on education, and youth wing members of Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh, a group closely tied to India's ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).

Demonstrators attend a protest against attacks on the students of New Delhi's Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU), outside the Gateway of India monument in Mumbai, India, January 6, 2020. REUTERS/Francis Mascarenhas - RC2GAE9R168W

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BJP denied it had instigated the clashes and claimed without evidence that the attack was started by the left-leaning students.

JNU is one of India's most prestigious universities and has a history of left-wing activism. Many of the students have protested Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the BJP in recent years and have accused them of trying to stomp out free speech.

Demonstrators shout slogans during a protest against the attacks on the students of New Delhi's Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) on Sunday, in Kolkata, India, January 6, 2020. REUTERS/Rupak De Chowdhuri - RC2CAE96VT8K

Following Sunday's attack, videos of violence spread quickly over WhatsApp and were broadcast on television, sparking similar protests in Chandigarh, Bangalore, Mumbai, and Hyderabad.

In Kolkata, the scene at Jadavpur University took a disturbing turn as a video showed police forcibly going after nearly 100 students and BJP workers with their iron batons.

Rapid Action Force (RAF) personnel stand guard as supporters of the youth wing of India's main opposition Congress party protest against the attacks on the students of Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) on Sunday, in New Delhi, India, January 6, 2020. REUTERS/Anushree Fadnavis - RC2FAE9PM8YZ

The deputy commissioner of Kolkata Police eventually apologized for the bloodying of students - many of whom were women - and argued that tensions had risen too quickly. After blocking their path for nearly two hours, the students eventually marched on to the local police station to file a complaint against the officers who had beaten the female students.

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Several colleges and universities across the country have been hit by the unrest following Sunday's attack. Despite video footage, no arrests have been made so far in the New Delhi attack.