JU student admitted to hospital after 'assault' in hostel

PTI, Kolkata, Jul 25, 2024 :  About a year after the death of a first-year undergraduate student after ragging by seniors, another student of Jadavpur University was allegedly tortured in a hostel by inmates on suspicion of stealing a laptop, an official said on Thursday.

The first-year post-graduate student of Computer Engineering and inmate of the boys’ hostel was admitted to a hospital on Wednesday night, the official of the university told PTI.

He said the student fell sick when confronted by a section of hostel boarders about a stolen laptop.

“The student was not assaulted but he was confronted by some other boarders of the C block of boys hostel and accused of stealing a laptop in the hostel compound on Wednesday night,” the official said.

On hearing the commotion the hostel superintendent went to the spot and took the initiative to rush him to the nearby KPC Hospital, the official said.

He said the boy’s parents were informed and they arrived on Thursday morning.

“The boy, a student of the evening section, is currently stable and recovering. We will record his statement after he is discharged,” the official said.

The boy’s family alleged he was physically assaulted on suspicion of stealing a laptop at hostel and had to be hospitalised.

“We are yet to get details about the incident. We heard the boy concerned has been admitted to hospital. But we don’t know the circumstances,” Tamalina, a member of the JU SFI unit said.

She said the SFI has zero tolerance for the ragging issue.

If the allegations of ragging are proved the union will do whatever is required to stop the practice, she said.

On August 9, 2023, a Bengali UG first-year student was ragged and sexually abused at another block of the same hostel. Immediately afterwards he fell from a top-floor balcony and succumbed to injuries at hospital on August 10 morning.

The incident triggered an outrage in the state and country as the university campus and adjacent streets were rocked by a series of protests by political parties and organisations for the next week.

The university formed an inquiry committee to probe into the incidents while the probe by the state government found five students guilty arresting them.

Twenty-five others, all boarders, were barred from entering campus by the university.