Shameful activities in Jadavpur University, Kolkata

Prof Shankar Chatterjee, Hyderabad

What happened in Jadavpur University, Kolkata, is a highly deplorable, shuddering case and act of criminals. It is pertinent to mention that in 2023, it was ranked fourth among universities in India by the National Institutional Ranking Framework (NIRF). It also achieved 10th rank in the engineering category and 13th overall in the National Institutional Ranking Framework (NIRF) 2023. Anyway, in the name of ragging a student Swapnodeep Kundu (18 years old) died which means parents lost their bright son at a young age. I am very surprised to know that some former students were staying in the hostel. Also, it is evident from different print media and social media that in the vicinity of the University hostel, alcohol bottles, condoms, etc were found. West Bengal is famous for politics mainly blame game politics, so I request all the intellectuals, civil societies, and others to see that the culprits behind the scene are not spared. And my hunch is that when so many years such unfortunate activities were going on in the University, why the top management officials did not take action? The University's Dean of Students, Rajat Roy, was interrogated in Lalbazar (Kolkata Police Head Quarters) on August 17, 2023. According to the investigators, the Dean said no 'rules' could be enforced in the University due to protests from the students, which is unbelievable. It means some students are at the helm of affairs in the University.  The UGC has reprimanded Jadavpur University for submitting a 'generic' report on alleged ragging and sexual harassment of the student. A total of 12 people, including alumni and students, have been arrested so far in connection with the student death. According to police sources, several other people had an active role in the incident, so I suggest all of them, irrespective of status, should be arrested. Since a bright student has lost his life, I request no advocates should come in support of ‘criminal’.