JU 2023 ragging victim’s dad breaks down during Pocso court deposition
Times of India | 25 July 2025
Kolkata: The special Pocso court at Alipore on Thursday recorded the statement of the father of the first-year Jadavpur University student who was found dead in 2023 at the JU Main Hostel premises. This is the first time that anyone from the victim's family testified in court in this case, recalling the time he met the key accused.
Sources said he was the tenth witness in this trial, with a total of 23 prime witnesses cited by the prosecution. His cross-examination by the defence is expected to be completed soon. His testimony comes months after the hostel superintendent of JU was examined.
Court sources said that the victim's father recorded his statement for close to two hours. However, after around 30 minutes into his initial deposition, he reportedly broke down, unable to continue. The emotional strain left him ill, said sources, adding that it took around 20 minutes for him to resume recording his statement again. However, once the process started again, he managed to complete it. The special prosecutor in this case, Bivas Chatterjee, refused to comment, stating the case was now in a trial stage.
Sources indicated that the prosecution wished to use the evidence of the deceased's mother and brother, too, in building their case. The prosecution earlier alleged that the defence was trying to drag the case "unnecessarily".
The development came days after the prosecution produced an important witness — a barber by profession. The barber, according to sources, was forced to cut the hair of first hostel inmates as instructed by the accused. The victim lost his life on Aug 9, 2023. The charge sheet was placed at the local Pocso court on Oct 19, the same year. The trials began in March 2024.
According to the chargesheet, the fresher was stripped naked, made to walk along the corridor, and lie face-down at the boys' main hostel on the evening of Aug 9, the day before he passed away in hospital. The same has also been shared by police in court. Also, all 12 arrested so far for being directly involved with the death were present at the spot while the torture was on, the cops claimed.