Ragging death: Jadavpur University begins separating hostels for freshers

Kolkata: The Jadavpur University has shifted about 100 first year students to the hostel inside its campus based on a recommendation by its internal inquiry committee after the ragging and death of an undergraduate fresher in August, varsity officials said on Thursday.

Twelve senior students residing in a floor of the building will leave as soon as their upcoming semester exams are over, he told PTI.

The process of shifting the junior students to the hostel earmarked for first year students started in October, he said.

"Repair and renovation of another adjacent building, which houses some non-teaching staff, is on. Once the work is over it will house another 40 first year students. The building will be meant for housing only freshers," the official said.

The internal inquiry committee had suggested Jadavpur University authorities to demarcate hostel accomodation at the earliest in the wake of the fall of a 17-year old first year student from the third floor balcony of the boys' main hostel on August 9 night after intense ragging by seniors. The fresher had died in hospital the next morning.

The university official said the Y block of boys' main hostel building, where the August 9 incident took place, does not have any fresher currently and only seniors are housed there.

The main hostel building is, however, located outside the university campus near Jadavpur police station.

JU officiating Vice-chancellor Buddhadeb Sau said in September that among several recommendations of the committee, the university will seek to forthwith put into effect the proposal to segregate freshers and seniors in a given time frame. For other proposals the opinion of the highest decision making body - the executive council - will be required.

Sau could not be contacted for his comments on Thursday.

The Students Federation of India, which controls the students union of JU arts department, had earlier asked the JU authorities to start the process of segregating seniors and freshers in hostels from the boys' main hostel building by the second week of October.

The fall and death of the undergraduate student due to ragging had triggered a national outrage. Protests were held in and out of the JU campus by student groups and various political parties and indefinite sit-ins were held.