Druti Banerjee, Pune
Only two days into the academic session, a first-year student at Jadavpur University (JU) was discovered deceased in mysterious circumstances. The body was found on Thursday outside the university’s boys’ hostel, and he is believed to have succumbed to his injuries sustained in a fall from the second-floor balcony hostel a night before.
Swapnodeep Kundu, the student, reportedly fell from the second-floor balcony of the main hostel building and was pronounced dead after he was transported to a local hospital. Swapnodeep was from Bagula in the Nadia district and had been accepted into the university’s Bengali Department this session.
A few steps from the building, Kundu was discovered naked, supporting the assertions of his parents and a sizable portion of the student body that the 18-year-old was a victim of ragging. A team of investigators was formed by the university administration, and it will provide its findings in two weeks. Swapnodeep was believed to have “jumped off” according to the police’s later statements.
Ramprasad Kundu, the student’s father, stated that since his son’s admission to the institution on August 3, he has been residing in the dorm. The father further said that Swapnodeep had made frantic calls to his mother on Wednesday, telling her that he was afraid for his life, and wished to go back home. The father ruled out suicide as a cause of death. A fellow fresher on social media alleged, among other things, that Swapnodeep’s passing was caused by ragging heinously conducted by certain seniors. Some students said that Swapnodeep had been forced to sprint naked over the hostel terrace. The original autopsy found fractures in the left side of the pelvis, ribs, spine, and head.
Amitava Datta, the pro-VC of the varsity, expressed his grievances and said that the situation was quite tragic, and he claims that they have not received any complaints on ragging. The committee, however, would look into it, he added. Police claim that other students informed them they had reached out to Dean Rajat Ray at 10 PM to alert him of Swapnodeep’s “abnormal” behavior, but they were promised he would address the situation the following morning. Minutes before Swapnodeep’s death, the students stated they reached out to Ray once more an hour later, but they had gotten no response. Following the incident, Ray refused to speak to the media.
In response to the student’s death, some students revolted on campus. On Thursday night, Governor C.V. Ananda Bose, who serves as the Chancellor of Jadavpur University, paid a visit to the hostel.