In connection to the death of first-year Jadavpur University student Swapnadeep Kundu, Kolkata Police arrested two more senior students on Sunday, August 13. These two are Deepsekhar Dutta, who is a second-year Economics student, and Mantosh Ghosh, a second-year Sociology student, the first students to be held in connection to the case.
This is after former student Sourav Chowdhury was arrested on Saturday, August 12. According to the police, their names emerged while interrogating Sourav, reports The New Indian Express. These two students were present while Swapnadeep was being ragged, said a police officer.
All these accused students were booked under murder charges, as Swapnadeep's family alleged foul play behind the tragedy. "We are exploring all possible angles. The investigation is being supervised by the highest level of officers," said Vineet Goyal, Commissioner of Kolkata police.
Swapnadeep, a resident of Bagula in Nadia who was admitted to the university on August 3, was found on the ground in front of his hostel building on the second floor, naked and unconscious. He was immediately rushed to a private hospital, where he succumbed to his injuries on August 9.
Following the arrests, the West Bengal Commission for Protection of Child Rights (WBCPCR) visited Swapnadeep’s family. The commission stated that brutal torture and sexual assault were performed on the victim, thus supporting the family’s allegations of ragging. Swapnadeep’s mother even said that he pleaded with her to take him home on the day of the incident.
Later, Sudeshna Roy, Chairperson of WBCPCR visited the Jadavpur Police Station and interacted with the officers probing into the incident.
Shankhashubhra Chatterjee, the Joint Commissioner of Police (Crime) admitted that there were no CCTVs installed on the campus of the university and even the few of them that were there weren’t functioning. "Had there been CCTVs, the culprits responsible for the incident could have been identified," he said.
Questioning the lack of functional surveillance in the college, Ananya Chakraborty, Advisor to the WBCPCR, who met Swapnadeep's family in Nadia, said, "Why was there no CCTV inside the university premises? Is it a different planet? The student faced torture and sexual assault.” While just three persons were arrested, Ananya says that everyone in the university has Swapnadeep’s blood on their hands due to their negligence.
The administration also drew sharp criticism from former VC Abhijit Chakraborty, who said that several steps taken during his tenure to restrict the entry of outsiders inside the institution's premises were undone after his retirement. "Other than CCTVs, fencing nets were in place to restrict outsiders' entry. But after I retired, all steps were removed away. Had there been proper surveillance, the unfortunate incident could have been averted," he said.
