Kolkata, May 3 (PTI) Jadavpur University announced on Friday that an executive council (EC) meeting would be convened soon to address various issues, including expediting the investigation into the death of an undergraduate student following an incident of ragging at the boys’ hostel about a year ago.
The newly appointed officiating vice-chancellor, Prof Bhaskar Gupta, said both the university’s anti-ragging committee and internal inquiry panel are actively working to ensure justice for the victim’s family.
The EC meeting, which is the highest decision-making body of the institution (besides the Court), has not been held for several months.
While Prof Gupta did not specify the reasons for the delay in holding the EC meeting, university sources attributed it to the ongoing stalemate over the appointment of the new VC due to conflicts between the higher education department and Raj Bhavan.
“The internal inquiry into the unfortunate incident hasn’t been put to the backburner. It is very much on,” the senior academic said.
Despite the ongoing election process, the VC assured that the EC meeting would be held, emphasising that JU is an autonomous body and the issues being discussed pertain to student welfare.
Prof Gupta confirmed that he met with a delegation from the All Bengal University Teachers’ Association (ABUTA), who urged him to address all outstanding issues.
In a statement, ABUTA expressed regret over the delay in launching a comprehensive, independent probe into the alleged ragging incident that led to the student’s death.
Goutam Maity, a state committee member of ABUTA and senior JU academic, demanded the strictest punishment for those responsible for the student’s death and called for a thorough investigation into the roles of various university stakeholders.
Maity criticised the university for what he perceived as a lack of progress in expediting the probe and called for an impartial investigation.
“We demand strictest punishment against those directly or indirectly responsible for the shocking death of the youth from rural Bengal. He could only attend classes for a few days before his dreams were extinguished,” Maity said.
The VC assured that the EC meeting would address all outstanding issues as soon as possible. PTI SUS MNB
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