Jadavpur University student dies after ‘fall from hostel balcony’, family alleges ragging

Governor CV Ananda Bose also visited the Jadavpur University campus on Thursday night and interacted with students. He claimed what the students shared was “sensitive” information and he didn’t want to “share it in public domain”.

The university has initiated an internal probe into the incident.

“On August 9 around 11.45 pm, a first-year student of Jadavpur University somehow fell down from the balcony of the second floor of the Jadavpur University Main Hostel. He received multiple injuries and was undergoing treatment at KPC Medical College. He succumbed to his injuries around 4:30 am on Thursday,” said a senior police official.

“The matter is under investigation. No complaint has been filed by the family members till now,” said the official.

According to police sources, around 11. 45 pm on Wednesday, students in the ‘A’ block of the university’s main hostel rushed out of their rooms after hearing a loud sound.

On coming out, they reportedly saw him lying in a pool of blood. He was rushed to a nearby private hospital where he died, they added.

The student’s uncle alleged that the 18-year-old had called his mother on Wednesday night and told her that he wasn’t “feeling well”.

“He spoke to his mother on Wednesday evening and told her that he wasn’t feeling well. He also told her that he was very scared. When his mother asked him what had happened, he asked her to come soon. He said that he had a lot to tell her,” said the uncle, adding that his nephew soon hung up the phone and later when his mother called him he didn’t take the call.

“Early Thursday morning, his mother got a call that he had fallen off from the balcony of his hostel,” the uncle said.

The uncle also said that the new session had started recently and his nephew had attended a few classes. “He wasn’t allotted his own room at the hostel and was staying at a friend’s room,” he added.

Dismissing speculations that his nephew died by suicide, the uncle said, “Of course, it is a case of ragging. Why else would a boy with a healthy mind suddenly die?”

Kunal Chattopadhyay, a professor of Comparative Literature at the Jadavpur University, also claimed that the student was being ragged. In a Facebook post on Thursday, Chattopadhyay wrote, “A first-year student died a little while ago, being a victim of ragging…I remember that pamphlets were published saying that whether ragging is really ‘ragging’ or not, should be decided through a democratic process. Many will try to save themselves after this death.”

Sources said the 18-year-old was a bright student. He had taken up science stream and scored well in 12 th and even in the Jadavpur University’s joint entrance exam, but he later decided to join an undergraduate course in Bengali language, they added. Sources also said that he had recently deactivated his Facebook account.

JU Registrar Snehamanju Basu, in a communique to the Jadavpur police station, said the student was found on the road in front of the main hostel within the campus in unconscious and wounded condition “at 11 pm” and “despite every step taken for immediate and best possible treatment for him, he died at 6 am today.”

Meanwhile, the Association For Protection Democratic Rights (APDR) blamed Governor Bose and the state government for the student’s death. The organisation also demanded a judicial probe into the incident.

“We blame the Governor of West Bengal and the state education department for the unfortunate death of a first year student of Jadavpur University. Because of their conflict there is no vice-chancellor in the university. With a temporary vice-chancellor, no one is willing to take responsibility for anything. As a result, special surveillance and security arrangements were not made for the first year students,” read a statement issued by the APDR on Thursday.

“We demand a judicial inquiry into the entire incident. Because in the case of IIT-Kharagpur, it was seen that the police had given a wrong autopsy report. It is alleged that a murder was reported as a suicide. Therefore, caution should be taken in the case of Jadavpur. Therefore, an investigation should be conducted by forming a probe committee headed by a working judge. Otherwise, there will remain deep doubts about the truth,” said APDR general secretary Ranjit Sur.

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In October 2022, the body of a third-year mechanical engineering student was found in his hostel room at the Indian Institute of Technology-Kharagpur campus. The deceased, Faizan Ahmed, was a native of Odisha. As the initial post-mortem report was inconclusive, a second post-mortem examination was conducted at the direction of Calcutta High Court, which stated that Faizan had allegedly been murdered. —With PTI inputs