Jadavpur University has formed a four-member team to investigate an incident of alleged moral policing on campus involving four fourth-year engineering students.
According to a senior JU official, a group of women submitted a complaint to Vice-Chancellor Chiranjib Bhattacharjee, alleging that they were assaulted on the playground and later in the corridor of Aurobindo Bhawan.
According to university sources, and a viral purported video, four engineering students allegedly confronted some students on Tuesday evening after “seeing objectionable acts” and “holding hands” in the playground. The men allegedly passed inappropriate comments and questioned their behaviour. A heated altercation followed between the two groups, after which campus security escorted the engineering students out.
The complainants further alleged that during the scuffle, student Indranuj Roy was assaulted and had to be admitted to M R Bangur Hospital.
A senior official said the four engineering students have been barred from entering campus “as per the Registrar’s direction… pending the completion of the investigation and enquiry.”
Several students alleged that the barred students were “habitual offenders” who frequently made derogatory comments on others inside the campus. On the night of the incident, the boys allegedly said it was “not appropriate” for students to hold hands or kiss in the open, and one of them allegedly claimed women from the arts department were of “loose character”. One complainant said the men used abusive language and threatened the girls “not to cross their limits”.
In their letter, the complainants said they do not feel safe on campus with the accused students present.
A senior official said, “A four-member probe team has been formed. There are professors and the Dean of Students. They will look into the videos and also question those who were present at the spot.”
Students and guards alleged the group from the engineering department “stays on campus late into the night and does not listen when asked by guards to leave”.