Jadavpur University teachers to hold emergency meeting on Monday to discuss student's death

Jadavpur University teachers will hold an emergency meeting on Monday to discuss the incident of death of an undergraduate student after his ragging.

Three people, including two JU students and a former student, have been arrested for their alleged involvement in the ragging of the 17-year-old, who died after falling down from the balcony of the boys' main hostel on August 10.

Police have taken cognisance of JU students' social media posts, including photographs, which suggest there was an element of sexual harassment in the ragging of the deceased.

"He was definitely tormented by the boarders. There can be some passive sexual harassment. We are probing the matter," a senior police officer said.

"We have called for an emergency meeting on Monday to discuss the death of the boy, who was like my son. If we pretend to look the other way despite being educators, we will not be forgiven by people," JUTA general secretary Partha Pratim Roy told PTI.

He said the present situation is not being helped by the fact that the university has remained without a permanent VC for past several months, and there has been no elected executive committee while posts of three deans remain vacant.

"We had repeatedly said that first year students should be put up in a separate hostel, away from the seniors but that was not heeded. If cases where anyone is found guilty of ragging, some of their mates do everything possible to shield the culprit. There should be an immediate end to this practice," Roy said.

He said the meeting will also put forward the demand to ensure that former students, who are no longer associated with the university, leave the hostel immediately.

Another university teacher said the affairs in the boys' main hostel, where the incident had occurred, are run by a union affiliated to a Naxalite students' body.

"Several incidents of ragging were alleged in this hostel in the past but stringent action could not be taken by the anti-ragging committee and the university in a single case. These union members also prevented the setting up of CCTVs in the hostel," he said.

Roy said issues such as installation of CCTVs need to be addressed carefully as various issues are involved in it, including personal space, freedom and liberty of students.

Another senior faculty member, Manojit Mandal, said the death of the student was 'nothing short of a murder'.

He said the West Bengal College and University Professors' Association (WBCUPA) will take out a rally on Monday 'in protest against red terror' on the campus.

The JU arts and science departments are controlled by SFI and the engineering by FETSU.

Mondal, in a social media post, asked the BA first year students "not to hesitate to reach out to teachers at any moment... whether you are from the city, or far-flung places... We are like your second parents."

The 17-year-old, a resident of Bagula in Nadia district, fell from the second-floor balcony of the main hostel building around 11.45 pm on August 10 and died while undergoing treatment at a hospital at 3.40 am next morning.

An FIR has been registered after the deceased's father lodged a complaint, alleging that a few boarders of the hostel were responsible for his son's death.