Jadavpur University ragging death: Four more arrested taking total to 7

Kolkata: The police on Wednesday arrested four other persons, including three current and one former student of Jadavpur University (JU) in connection with the mysterious death of a fresher of the university within the campus on August 10.

They were arrested in the morning after night long interrogation by the investigating police officials. The four arrested have been identified as Muhammad Asif, Muhammad Arif, Ankan Sardar and Asit Sardar.

While Asit Sardar is a former student of JU and the other three are present students of the university.

The four of the accused will be presented at a lower court in Kolkata on Wednesday only and sources said that the public prosecutor will seek police custody for them.

With these fresh arrests of four persons the total number of arrests in the case has risen to seven. The cops had earlier arrested three persons, which include one former and two present students of JU in the matter.

It is further learnt that JU’s registrar Snehomanju Basu and the dean of studies Rajat Roy have been summoned to the Kolkata Police headquarter on Wednesday at around 3 p.m. The joint commissioner (crime) of the city police Shankha Shubhra Chakrabarty will speak to them. 

The body of the fresher was found in front of the students’ hostel of JU in the morning of August 10. He had been reportedly a victim of psychological harassment of his seniors in the hostel.

The development had posed questions about the lackadaisical monitoring of the university authorities where former students not only stayed at the students’ hostels even months after passing out from the university but also acted as the final word in accommodation- related administrative affairs.

Questions are also being raised about who in the university will take moral responsibility for the mishap considering that JU is running without a permanent vice- chancellor for quite some time.