Kolkata’s Jadavpur University (JU) hostels to be closed during Puja vacations, the Calcutta High Court ordered on Friday. The university authorities will be able to take the help of the police to ensure that no outsider enters the campus during the Puja vacations. The hostels will be unlocked again once the Puja vacations are over.
Jadavpur University has witnessed several untoward incidents lately and even in the last few years. Due to which, questions have been raised about the safety of students in this educational institution. Recently a student died by drowning in a lake inside the campus and a SFI leader has been suspended after being accused of molestation.
In the wake of these recent cases, the Calcutta High Court has ordered that the hostels will have to remain closed during the Puja vacations to ensure students’ safety inside campus. The division bench of Justice Sujoy Pal has ordered that all hostels should be closed during the Puja vacations. The Jadavpur police station will ensure that no hostel is unlocked during the holidays.
JU authorities and state govt to discuss campus safety after Durga Puja
Once the vacations are over, officials from both the state government and the university will sit together and hold a meeting to discuss all the problems of the university, including ensuring security inside campus. The final decision on the installation of CCTV in the university premises and other issues will also be taken in that meeting. The High Court will have to submit a report in this regard in the next hearing, the division bench of Justice Sujoy Pal ordered.
Jadavpur University student death
Incidentally, this month, a student died mysteriously on the university campus. Her body was found near the lake near gate number four of the university. A female student of Jadavpur University in Kolkata was declared dead after being rushed to a hospital in an unconscious state. The body of a third year English Literature student Anamika Mondal was recovered from a pond inside Jadavpur University on September 11.
On Monday, a murder case was registered based on a written complaint from the student’s family. On Monday, the student’s parents went to Lalbazar and spoke to the police. After that, they went to Jadavpur Police Station and filed a written complaint. The parents of the deceased have alleged that their daughter was murdered. Naturally, questions about on campus security arose in that incident. There was also a demand to install more CCTV cameras inside the campus.
Jadavpur University Student leader accused of molestation
A student leader has recently been accused of molestation at Jadavpur University. The accused is an SFI (Students’ Federation of India) leader, a student organisation politically aligned with the Communist Party of India (Marxist). A student has lodged a complaint against the student leader named Soumik Mandal. Allegedly, they went on an educational trip to West Bengal’s Shantiniketan. The molestation incident took place there.
An SFI leader from the university said, “The incident happened. We have issued this statement after receiving information. We will not keep any such element in the organisation.”
The SFI’s Jadavpur University regional committee said in a press statement on Wednesday night that after receiving the complaint from the student, they have decided to temporarily suspend the accused from all activities pertaining to the organisation.