Jadavpur ragging death: Registrar offers to resign after getting threat letter; V-C stops her

Sourav Choudhury and 12 others, all current or former students of JU, were arrested for their alleged role in the death of the first-year student of Bengali honours.

Amid a row over the death of a student after ragging in a hostel of Jadavpur University, Registrar Snehamanju Basu has offered to resign after getting a letter threatening her with dire consequences, but she reversed the decision following the intervention of officiating Vice-Chancellor Buddhadeb Sau.

The anonymous letter the registrar and Joint Registrar Sanjay Gopal Sarkar received by post on Friday issued life threat to them, if any harm was caused to one of the former students who were arrested in connection with the case, a JU official said.

The officiating V-C told PTI on Saturday that the registrar was a bit scared initially over the threat letter and sent him a mail offering to resign.

Sau said, "After going through her mail, I called her up and assured her of adequate security on the part of the university administration. I am certain she will be discharging her responsibility in the present capacity." He said Basu has lodged an FIR in connection with the anonymous threat letter.

The registrar later told reporters: "I don't want to run away from my responsibilities when the university is passing through a difficult time. I am busy with replying to the queries of the state government's fact-finding team about anti-ragging measures as well as those posed by UGC on the same matter." According to a university official, the anonymous letter said the lives of Basu and the joint registrar will be in danger if something bad happens to a “bright former student” like Sourav Choudhury.

The letter claimed that Choudhury, who was the first person to be arrested in this case, has been falsely implicated.

Choudhury and 12 others, all current or former students of JU, were arrested for their alleged role in the death of the first-year student of Bengali honours. He died after falling from the second-floor balcony of a hostel. The ex-students were staying in the hostel illegally.