JU fresher death: Apprehension rises on innocents getting victimized

Kolkata, Aug 20

With the number of arrests in the ragging-related death of a fresher of Kolkata’s iconic Jadavpur University (JU) surging, apprehension about any innocent individual being victimized in the process has gripped the university insiders.

Several students have urged faculty members to request the city police authorities to conduct the investigation in a sensitive manner so that not a single “innocent” student is victimized.

A section of the faculty members, besides trying to invoke confidence among these panicked students, are also contacting their respective sources in city police, some of whom were their own students at some point of time, requesting the cops to keep the “sensitivity” factor in mind.

“These faculty members are real friends of their students. We understand and appreciate the anxiety of the students in such a situation. But we were also students at some point of time and we are still nostalgic about our student days. So whenever we conduct any probe relating to any academic institution we apply special caution and sensitivity. Our aim is to punish the culprit and not destroy the career of any student,” said a senior official of the state police who did not wish to be named.

Already 12 individuals, a combination of present and former students of JU

have been arrested in this connection.

Meanwhile, the Raj Bhavan on late Saturday issued a statement announcing

the appointment of Dr Buddhadeb Sau, a faculty member with the mathematics

department of JU, as the interim vice- chancellor of the university.

He had told media persons on Saturday that his priority will be to identify the administrative lapses within the university and adopt corrective measures to solve that.