Jadavpur University Student Allegedly "Tortured" Over Suspicion Of Theft

Almost 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 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.

"We are looking into the incident and the allegations," JU Registrar Snehamanju Basu told PTI.

University's Medical Superintendent Mitali Deb said the student had a panic attack on being accused of stealing a laptop but she did not find any evidence of ragging or physical assault.

"The other inmates present at the hostel asked me to give them a written statement that I was taking him to a hospital. I explained to them that I have the authority to take a sick and ailing person for treatment to a healthcare facility and went ahead," Deb, who took the student to the hospital on Wednesday night, told reporters.

The university authorities informed the student's parents and they arrived in Jadavpur from Purulia on Thursday morning.

"The youth, a student of the evening section, is currently stable and recovering. We will record his statement after he is discharged from the hospital," the official said.

His family, which arrived from Purulia on Thursday morning, alleged he was physically assaulted on suspicion of stealing a laptop at the 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 the 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.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)