Kolkata’s Jadavpur University (JU) has initiated an inquiry hours after a fresh complaint of ragging was reported. Submitted on Tuesday, the complaint alleges that senior students “severely harassed” a second-year postgraduate student of film studies inside the university’s main hostel for over five hours.
Officiating Vice-Chancellor (VC) Bhaskar Gupta confirmed the development, stating, “As soon as the complaint was received, an inquiry committee was formed. The committee has commenced its work and the matter is being thoroughly investigated.” The student formally lodged complaints with the VC, Registrar, and the university’s anti-ragging committee.
He alleged that the harassment began on March 15 when he visited a room in the A1 block of the hostel to meet a friend. He accused a group of seniors of surrounding him and launching a barrage of verbal abuse, before escalating to serious threats, including rape threats directed at his mother. He further claimed he was coerced into posting “incriminating” statements on social media.
The father of a 17-year-old JU student who died in 2023 expressed his outrage and disappointment at the fresh allegations. “It is shameful and shocking,” he said while speaking to The Indian Express over phone. “Despite the loss of an innocent life, these incidents continue. This is highly condemnable. I am at a loss for words.”
The 17-year-old student had fallen to his death after he was “disrobed, bullied and abused with homosexual slurs”, a police investigation had shown. The Kolkata Police had arrested 12 accused in the case — six of them students at the university and the others former students who had continued to occupy the hostels.
“Why are the JU administrators or the government unable to control this within Jadavpur University?” the father asked. “I have heard that some students involved in my son’s death are still there. This is a very serious matter. Are we waiting for more lives to be lost and dreams to be shattered? These individuals seem to enjoy political support. I am tired of fighting this battle. This must come to an end.”