Jadavpur University ragging death: Trial delays keep father from justice after 3 years
Three years after his 17-year-old son died following an alleged ragging incident at Jadavpur University's main hostel, the victim's father continues to await justice. Trial hearings at a special court in Kolkata have been repeatedly postponed, and several individuals identified in the university's internal inquiry have not faced action, he says.
The student fell from the second-floor balcony of the hostel on August 9, 2023. According to his family, he had been subjected to ragging, harassment, and mental torture by senior students and former hostel boarders. The chargesheet in the case was filed in October 2023, and the trial began in March 2024.
Speaking to The Hindu, the father said that despite his repeated visits to the court and police station, hearings have not progressed. “No one turns up for the hearings, and the dates are postponed each time,” he said. “I am completely alone, poor and powerless. Why should I have to bear the burden of losing my child when the people who abused him and caused his death are roaming about freely?”
The Kolkata police have arrested 12 people in connection with the case. However, the father said that the university's internal inquiry had named several other individuals. “What happened to all these people who were named in JU's own internal investigation? Why have they not been brought to justice?” he asked.
In the aftermath of the incident, multiple accounts of ragging and harassment by senior students came to light. The university subsequently separated junior and senior hostel accommodations to prevent further conflict. Some students, speaking on condition of anonymity, said they were forced to follow seniors' orders, including restrictions on clothing and demands to buy alcohol, and were threatened with dire consequences if they reported the matter.
The Jadavpur case became one of several campus incidents that sparked public outrage in West Bengal. A year later, on August 9, 2024, a postgraduate doctor was raped and murdered at R.G. Kar Medical College and Hospital in Kolkata. While the mother of that victim chose to enter electoral politics in her quest for justice, the father of the Jadavpur student has continued to rely on the legal system.
Both crimes drew massive protests and became defining moments in the state's recent history. Yet, years later, the crowds have dispersed, and both families continue to wait for court verdicts. The Jadavpur victim's father said his son always believed he would be known to the world one day. “We never thought that day would come through his death. It breaks my heart to think that a young, bright boy like him was robbed of his life right at the beginning,” he added.
