"The teen was definitely ragged and sexually molested”, investigating officers say in connection to Jadavpur University student death

The 1^st year student of Jadavpur University who died on August 10^th was paraded naked in the corridor of the JU Main Boys Hostel’s A2 wing, minutes before he fell off the balcony, leading to his untimely death, reveals Kolkata Police’s initial round of investigation, submitted in court.

The family of the deceased had alleged that their son was sexually assaulted and ragged, which in turn led to his death, the police have concurred with them on this observation. "The teen was definitely ragged and sexually molested. He was paraded naked in the corridor after he was forced to undress in room No. 70. Those 12 arrested have played some role in the whole episode," said an investigating officer.

A total of 13 people have been arrested by the Kolkata Police in connection with the death case. However, investigations have revealed that 12 out of the 13 arrested ‘had played active roles’ and had ‘sexually molested’ the boy, this includes both ex- students and current students of the varsity.

The Kolkata Police investigators have also found a WhatsApp group that was created by one of the arrested accused, centering on the happenings of August 9. This, the cops claim was created to ‘misdirect’ their investigation. "Probe also revealed that the arrested accused had planned to misdirect police so that the ragging part could be concealed," added the investigating officer. The accused and arrested bunch had created this WhatsApp group to push the investigation to another angle, in an attempt to shift their attention from an angle of ragging and harassment, claim the cops. On Tuesday, the local court allowed the police to add Section 4 of WB Prohibition of Ragging in Educational Institutions Act 2000, to the already existing charges.

On August 9, the teen allegedly fell off the 2^nd floor balcony with minimum clothes on his body. He was immediately rushed to a nearby hospital, where he succumbed to his injuries on August 10. In the absence of CCTV cameras or electronic footage to corroborate the findings of the police, they resorted to reconstruct the scene of crime with a dummy, similar to the physical proportions of the deceased student, to present a more cohesive narrative of the happenings of that fateful night. On Tuesday, the police questioned the hostel cook to find out more about the August 9 incident. Two other students have been summoned by the investigators for questioning in connection to their probe. Moreover, the police have had to base their investigation on testimonies, eye witnesses, and the findings of the reconstruction drill as there are no CCTV cameras on the Jadavpur University Main Boys Hostel campus.

Following the untimely death of the 1^st year student, the University authorities have taken active measures to curb the problem of ragging, bullying and harassment. In tandem with the UGC guidelines, CCTV cameras will be installed in the University as well as the hostel campus. In addition, the West Bengal Government has launched a toll free anti ragging helpline number for all the educational institutions across the state, this toll free service will be monitored from Lal Bazar, the police headquarters.