Jadavpur University student ragging-death: All 13 individuals arrested in the case of the ragging-related death of a 17-year-old undergraduate student at Jadavpur University have been charged under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act, said police. The first-year student from Jadavpur University, who reportedly experienced ragging and sexual abuse, died by suicide last month.
The police further said that the accused were charged under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act, 2012 (POCSO Act) because the boy was reportedly paraded naked on the second floor of the main hostel before he jumped off the balcony on August 9.
SIT formed to probe death
The Homicide Department of the Kolkata Police formed a Special Investigating Team (SIT) to investigate the death. "The case will now be investigated by the homicide department of the Kolkata Police. They have already taken over the probe. And since the deceased was a juvenile, we have booked all the 13 arrested accused under the POCSO Act," a police officer said on Friday.
The West Bengal Commission for Protection of Child Rights (WBCPCR) had earlier insisted that the accused be booked under the POCSO Act.
Student died by suicide
On August 10, a first-year student of Kolkata’s Jadavpur University died after allegedly falling from the balcony of the second floor of the main hostel. The student was identified as Swarnodip Kundu, a resident of Bagula in Nadia. He was an undergraduate student of Bengali (honours). His family alleged he was a victim of ragging as well as sexual harassment.
The 67-year-old university has also sent an exhaustive report to the University Grants Commission (UGC) on multiple queries about the alleged ragging and sexual harassment of the 17-year-old undergraduate student that led to his death, as directed by the statutory body.
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(With PTI inputs)
