The students of Jadavpur University in West Bengal held a rally today, Friday, August 11, protesting against the death of a first-year student who was allegedly being ragged at the university.
The protest rally was organised by the Arts Faculty Students' Union (AFSU) today, on the university campus at 12 noon.
The students demanded justice for Swapnadip Kundu, an 18-year-old resident of Bagula in Nadia district, who was pursuing Bengali (honours) at Jadavpur University. On Wednesday, August 9, after the first day of classes at the university, Kundu was found in a pool of blood on the ground in front of his hostel building. Allegations of ragging have been made by the deceased's family who have also lodged a complaint with the Jadavpur police station.
As per reports, Kundu was discovered naked and injured in front of his hostel building, raising suspicions of ragging. PTI also reported that an initial police probe has revealed that Kundu was being bullied and being called ‘gay’ by a few seniors at the hostel.
Demands
The AFSU has demanded that the deceased’s post-mortem reports be made public to determine the cause of his death. Moreover, the students have urged an immediate investigation into the death to be completed within five days.
“Last night, a first-year student of the Bengali department of the university jumped from the roof of the main hostel. This incident is very shocking and alarming. We are appalled at such a fate of a student while under the supervision of university authorities. Therefore, we demand a full investigation of this incident immediately,” a statement issued by the student group added.
Moreover, the students have also demanded that to prevent any recurrence of such incidents, first-year students should be rehabilitated in separate hostels inside the campus and an FIR should be filed on behalf of the university.
After the incident, the university also issued a notification, directing all new students to shift to a separate new boys hostel on the main campus on a temporary basis.
Ragging culture on campus?
Students of Jadavpur University told EdexLive that this is not an isolated incident and there is a ragging culture at the university’s boys hostels.
Tarpan Sarkar, a student of JU and member of ASFU, said that the hostel that was assigned to Kundu is located outside the main campus and is usually inhabited by former students of the university who have already graduated.
“This is the main reason behind this ragging culture in the men’s hostels. After the incident, we demanded the JU administration to shift all the new admits to a hostel located inside the campus and ban former students from residing in the hostels,” Sarkar informed.
In its notification, the JU administration also banned outsiders or former students to reside at the campus, urging the hostel superintendents to send the names of persons who do not comply with the said instruction.
West Bengal Governor CV Ananda Bose, who is Chancellor of the university, also visited the hostel and assured Kundu's father of stern action against those responsible for his son's death.
