The unnatural death of a 17-year-old student of Jadavpur University has exposed the shocking failure of a premier academic institution to provide the basic guarantee of safety to life. The student had spent just two nights in the hostel before falling to his death at the main hostel gate. There is evidence of extreme torture and humiliation of the student by senior boarders. A dream was nipped in the bud. The student was found naked with multiple injury marks. Police have registered cases of murder and criminal conspiracy and taken into custody three students, including one who had passed out a year ago but continued to stay illegally in the hostel. He and other senior boarders had set the code of conduct for fresh arrivals in the hostel, many of whom came from humble rural backgrounds and could not afford private accommodation. Ironically, the arrested students are also from rural fringes of Bengal, triggering a narrative that they had been victims of ragging once and had now become the perpetrators. Police investigation suggests that the student was tormented and faced sexual harassment. The tragic story of a meritorious youth battling his way up to a premier academic institution in pursuit of excellence and meeting such an untimely, violent end makes the situation more poignant and condemnable.

The details emerging out of the investigation expose how deep the rot is. There are tell-tale signs of criminal neglect and dereliction of duty by higher-ups of the university. There has been no Vice Chancellor since June 1, there is no acting VC and the Registrar was on leave when this happened. On August 2, just a week before this horrific incident, university authorities had issued a customary alert in a notice stating: “Ragging is not only a social evil but also a penal offence.” It listed the punishment for indulging in any form of ragging in the campus, hostel or common area, ranging from loss of an academic year, ouster from hostel to expulsion. The university also announced a 22-member anti-ragging committee, headed by the Vice Chancellor as the chairman and Dean of Students as the convenor. The standard operating procedures were also spelt out to members urging them to mount strict vigil, launch surprise checks in hostels and undertake patrolling. These steps mandated by the University Grants Commission were not implemented on the ground leading to a catastrophic end. No university official reportedly turned up even after being informed about the student’s fall. When the police arrived, the main hostel gate was locked by a section of boarders ~ perpetrators of the crime. The police were denied access. The sense of frustration runs deep as the university continues to be the flashpoint of a power struggle between students, the management, the state government and the Governor over who controls the university’s functions.

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