Kolkata: A third-year English honours student at Jadavpur University, who was rescued from a campus pond in an unconscious state around 10.15 pm on Thursday, was declared dead when taken to a hospital near the university.
Anamika Mondal, 22, a resident of Nimta, was seen chatting with classmates earlier in the evening. Later, she was spotted in the waterbody near gate no. 4 next to the union room. She had come to the campus to attend ‘Ruhaniyat' organised by Jadavpur University Drama Club. The event was supposed to conclude at 8 pm but had continued till around 10 pm. Following the death, the drama club cancelled Friday's programme.
A preliminary autopsy report on Friday said death was due to drowning.
There were no external injury marks on the body. A viscera test is being carried out to check if she had consumed alcohol or any other intoxicating substance.
Students felt Anamika might have gone to the washroom behind the union room and accidentally slipped and fallen into the pond. "We were alerted by the shrieks of another girl who spotted two hands sticking out of the water while heading to the washroom," a student said.
When students and security guards brought her out of the water, Anamika was unresponsive.
"An announcement was made about a medical emergency and we rushed to the union room and found her lying there. She had no pulse and was frothing," said Sneha Nandi, an ex-student, who had also came to attend the event. Anamika was declared dead on arrival at the hospital at 10.26 pm.
Police have not received any complaint of foul play and registered a case of unnatural death.
Cops have taken statements of half a dozen students and witnesses who were present at the spot, including the girl who first saw her in the water body.
"Prima facie, it seems she may not have been fully in control. It was a narrow path that led to the toilet. She might have slipped and fallen into the pond," said a police source. Cops are also reviewing feeds from three CCTV cameras installed near gate number 4.
The incident has rattled the campus community with many teachers and students expressing concern over the "total lack of vigil" on the campus.
Police said they would speak to the organisers of the event to find out why it had continued late into the night and why a few lights around the area had been switched off.
Pro-VC Amitava Datta said, "Losing a bright student is unfortunate. I think we have to take more stringent measures. There are security concerns as we do not have adequate security guards. We have written to the govt for more guards and installation of CCTVs.
We will talk to the deans and officials to find out how the incident happened."
Anamika's death comes two years after a first-year student died after a fall from the second-floor balcony of the Main Hostel in Aug 2023. The cause for the death was found to be ragging. In 2022, a former student of architecture department had drowned in a pond on the campus after playing Holi with friends.