'Jadavpur Student Was Ragged for 2 Hours, Forced To Strip Naked': Police Sources

A total of nine people have been arrested so far. What happened on 9 August?

The officer said the three ex-students of the university who were arrested on Wednesday had been staying at the hostel illegally and fled from Kolkata after the death of the first-year student of the Bengali department student last week.

(Photo: PTI)

(Trigger Warning: Mentions of suicide and physical and emotional torture. If you feel suicidal or know someone in distress, please reach out to them with kindness and call these numbers of local emergency services, helplines, and mental health NGOs.)

Video Producer: Shohini Bose

Video Editor: Karuna Mishra

The first-year student who purportedly died by suicide in Kolkata's Jadavpur University was allegedly ragged for over two hours on 9 August and forced to strip naked, a police officer, who is a part of the investigating team, told The Quint. His seniors allegedly told him "he was gay" and asked him to "submit evidence to prove it," the officer added.

On Wednesday, 16 August, the Kolkata Police arrested six more people in connection with the case. A total of nine arrests have been made so far.

"We arrested six people after they gave inconsistent replies to our questioning. While three are former students, the rest are current students of the college. They were present at the hostel on the night of 9 August, when the incident involving the first-year student took place," the police officer told The Quint.

The Night of 9 August: How Did It Unfold?

The officer told The Quint that the first-year student was summoned to the main accused's room and was made to "write a letter." Over the course of the night, the minor was taken to three different rooms and allegedly ragged.

"On 9 August, the deceased student came and told one of the hostel dadas (seniors) that one of his seniors in the Bengali department had warned him about the hostel. Later, the student was summoned to the room of the main accused. There, he was asked to write a letter commenting against his departmental senior who had warned him about the hostel. But he couldn't."

Police official

The police officer further added: "The letter was then written by two seniors. One of the main accused claimed that the signature on the letter was that of the deceased minor student. However, we have our doubts about it. The letter writing exercise started around 10 pm."

'Was Told He Was Gay by Seniors'

"As the ragging continued, the student was brought down to the third floor where he was forced to give an 'introduction'. He was told (by the seniors) that he was gay," the officer added.

"He was asked to submit evidence against this claim. Then, at around 11.30 pm, he was taken back to room number 70 where he was forcibly undressed."

The officer further said that the former students staying at the hostel started poking fun at the first-year student and said they wanted to "liberate him from homosexuality."

"At first, he was asked to wear only a towel. He was then asked to take the towel off and parade and run through the balcony naked," the officer added.

A case of murder and conspiracy has been registered by the police after the student's father filed a complaint. All nine students who have been arrested have been remanded to police custody until 28 August.

Meanwhile, the University Grants Commission, which is probing the student's death, pointed out that the 10-point report submitted by JU "did not include a single line" on the steps taken by the university to prevent ragging on the campus before last week's unfortunate incident.

The Quint spoke to students from the university who have allegedly been subjected to ragging and harassment by their seniors. You can read their stories here.