Fresh ragging charge against hostel seniors by Jadavpur student
The Hindu
JU student alleges harassment by seniors in boys' hostel; VC orders anti-ragging committee to investigate. Postgrad student claims mental torture, physical gestures, cold glares, and inability to study due to fear. JUTA general secretary calls for speedy investigation.
A postgraduate student of Jadavpur University, which was in the eye of the storm after the death of a fresher due to alleged ragging, on Wednesday levelled harassment charges against some seniors of the boys’ hostel.
The complaints by the arts department student came a week after the university barred the entry of six students, who were allegedly involved in the incident that led to the death of the fresher in August. The six were barred from the campus indefinitely.
A senior faculty member said the philosophy department postgraduate student complained in a mail to the Dean of Arts that he was subjected to various kinds of mental torture and abuses after being tasked by the hostel mess committee with buying essentials from the local market over the size of fish and vegetables.
“I am not feeling safe as I am being subjected to physical gestures and cold glares by some boarders. Neither is it possible for me to carry on my study from outside. Please take me out of the particular block where I stay now and shift (me) to another hostel in the campus,” the student added.
JU officiating Vice-Chancellor Buddhadeb Sau said, “I have heard it [about the mail by the student]. Let the convener of the anti-ragging committee examine the matter.” Expressing concern over the complaint, the Jadavpur University Teachers’ Association general secretary Partha Pratim Roy called for a speedy investigation.
“We are judges and therefore, cannot act like Mughals of a bygone era ... the writ courts in the guise of doing justice cannot transcend the barriers of law,” the High Court of Karnataka observed while setting aside an order of a single judge, who in 2016 had extended the lease of a public premises allotted to a physically challenged person to 20 years contrary to 12-year period stipulated in the law.
The High Court of Karnataka on Monday declined to interfere, at present, in the investigation against a Bharatiya Janata Party worker, who is among the accused persons facing charges of circulating obscene clips, related to “morphed” images and videos clips related to Prajwal Revanna, former Hassan MP, in public domain through pen drives and other modes.