Jadavpur Student Death: Bengal Governor Forms Panel To End Ragging At Hostels

Amid the shock and furore over the death of a young Jadavpur University student in a hostel allegedly because of ragging, West Bengal Governor CV Ananda Bose on Friday decided to form a high-level committee headed by a former chief justice and present interim VC of a university to study the issues and come up with suggestions to end the menace of ragging during an emergency meeting of teachers in-charge of anti-ragging squads of universities at Raj Bhavan.

A Raj Bhavan statement said it has also been decided to put an end to the entry of outsiders on university and college campuses which may lead to physical violence and intimidation of freshers.

It has also been decided to constitute a high-level committee headed by the former Chief Justice of Karnataka High Court and current interim vice-chancellor of Rabindra Bharati University Subhro Kamal Mukherjee "for a thorough study of the issue" and frame suggestions to put an end to such practices on the campus, the statement said.

The governor, who is the chancellor of state universities, urged authorities to visit the hostel premises and follow UGC guidelines to ensure the protection of freshers.

The 18-year-old Bengali Honours undergraduate Swapnadip Kundu, a resident of Bagula in Nadia district, fell from a balcony at the main hostel building around 11.45 pm on August 9 night and died while undergoing treatment at a hospital around 4.30 am on the following day (August 10), according to police.

Fellow first-year student Arpan Majhi alleged that Kundu's death was caused by ragging by a few hostel seniors.

Initial probe revealed that the student was bullied allegedly by some senior boarders of the hostel, police said.

Mr Bose, who is chancellor of the university, visited the hostel and assured Kundu's father of stern action against those responsible for his son's death.

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