Jadavpur University Student Death: TMC MP Moves Calcutta HC

A Public Interest Litigation (PIL) has been filed in the Calcutta High Court concerning the demise of an undergraduate student due to alleged ragging at Jadavpur University.

The petition was filed by Trinamool Congress (TMC) MP Kalyan Banerjee who raises questions concerning the lack of CCTV cameras at various locations within the premises of the institution. The petition also highlights incidents of ragging occurring within the campus.

Representing the petitioner, Senior Advocate Kalyan Bandopadhyay stated, “I am not on the murder/suicide of the student, but the entire JU administration has gone to the rocks…there is no CCTV anywhere. Earlier it was installed, it has been broken, and all outsiders are staying there. Ex-students who passed out 8-10 years ago are staying in the hostel. There is no administration, everything is in dark, one after another students are subjected to ragging, and it has gone to a horrible place.”

On August 14, another matter was mentioned before the High Court, revolving around the same circumstances, with regard to the enforcement of the RK Raghavan Committee report on ragging. Bandopadhyay argued that his plea holds a broader scope compared to the previous one. He stated: “The Chancellor is not here to just appoint ad-hoc VC. How can the chancellor sit tight over the rights of the students and not take care of them after appointing VC…what’s happening? Earlier matters were moved in 2015, no one is allowed to enter…this Court passed orders [for state representatives] to enter, but we cannot till we have been called [by the University]. It has to be brought in a correct place. That’s my request to your lordships. Anti-ragging law is settled, kindly take care of the other parts.”

The case was mentioned before a division bench of Chief Justice TS Sivagnanam and Justice Hiranmay Bhattacharya, who issued notice to the University and scheduled the matter for tentative hearing on August 21, 2023.

Swapnadeep Kundu, an 18 year old Bengali (Honours) student met his unfortunate demise after reportedly falling from a second-floor balcony of his hostel on August 9. Hailing from Bagula in the Nadia district, Kundu’s tragic fall occurred around 11:45 pm, leading to his passing the following day while undergoing treatment at a hospital.

A case of murder and conspiracy has been registered by the police after several allegations of ragging emerged. A sexual harassment angle is also under investigation.

It is to be noted that among the apprehended suspects, some are former students, while others are currently enrolled at the university.

Recent actions by the Kolkata Police resulted in the arrest of six suspects linked to the incident, thereby raising the total number of arrests to nine.

The detained individuals include Sourabh Chowdhury, an ex-student, Deepshekhar Dutta, a second-year economics student, Manotosh Ghosh, a second-year sociology student, Md. Arif, a third-year Civil Engineering student, Md. Asif Azmal, a fourth-year Electrical Engineering student, Ankan Sarkar, another third-year Civil Engineering student, Saptak Kamilya, an ex-student of Environmental Science, Asit Sardar, an ex-student of the Sanskrit Department, and Suman Naskar.