JU ragging death: 12 accused to be booked under POCSO Act

Kolkata: The homicide department of Kolkata Police informed on Friday that the 12 accused present and former students of Jadavpur University, who have been arrested in connection with the tragic death of a fresher of the institute, will now be booked under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act.

The first year student of Bengali honours had died after falling from the balcony of a students’ hostel on August 10. It is suspected that he became a victim of ragging.

“It has been decided to add sections under the POCSO Act against the 12 accused in view of the fact that the deceased student was below 18 years of age, and hence should be considered as minor,” said an official of the city police.

All the 12 accused students are currently in judicial custody and will be presented before a lower court in Kolkata on September 11.

The demand for inclusion of provisions under POCSO Act was first raised by the West Bengal Child Rights Commission (WBCRC) on grounds that the victim was a minor at the time of his death.

The tragic event exposed the sorry state of monitoring and supervision within the JU campus, especially in the students’ hostels where former students not only occupied beds months after passing out from the institute, but also acted as the final authority in accommodation-related administrative matters.

Recently, the internal probe committee of the university had suggested rustication of four current students from the university for their involvement in ragging.