Jadavpur University 1st-yr student dies after falling from hostel balcony; ragging alleged
Kolkata, Aug 11: A first-year student of Jadavpur University in Kolkata died after allegedly falling from the second-floor balcony of the main hostel, police said on Thursday.
Swapnadip Kundu (18), a resident of Bagula in Nadia district, was an undergraduate student of Bengali (honours). He allegedly fell from a hostel building around 11.45 pm on Wednesday, they said.
"He received multiple injuries and died at 4.30 am during treatment at the KPC Medical College," a police official said.
Governor CV Ananda Bose, who is also the Chancellor of the university, visited the hostel and assured Swapnadip's father of stern action against those responsible for his son's death.
Classes for the first year began a couple of days back, as another student of that year alleged that ragging by a few seniors was behind his friend's death.
Initial probe revealed that the student was bullied allegedly by some senior boarders of the hostel, the police officer said adding that he called up his mother at around 9 PM on Wednesday and expressed his fear "about something".
"His phone got switched off later. We are looking into his call list to find out whether he spoke to anyone else after that or not," the officer said, adding that they have examined the mobile phones of his roommates.
The police are waiting for the post-mortem examination report.
"It seems that the boy was in mental distress after seniors started terming him gay. There are witnesses when he started showing discomfort regarding this. He called up his mother at least four times on Wednesday and also deactivated his Facebook account in the evening," the officer told PTI.
JU Registrar Snehamanju Basu said in a communique to the Jadavpur police station said the said student was found on the road in front of the main hostel within the campus in unconscious and wounded condition "at 11 pm" and "despite every step taken for immediate and best possible treatment for him, he died at 6 am today."
On the allegation of Swapnodip's father that his son is a victim of ragging, the police officer said that they were talking to the in-charge of the hostel and also the students who have recently started staying there.
Meanwhile, another first-year student of Jadavpur University alleged in a Facebook post that ragging by "a few seniors" was behind the death of his friend Swapnodeep.
"My name is Arpan Majhi. I am a first-year student at Jadavpur University. My family is economically backward and I grew up in Asansol. Naturally, I applied for a hostel during admission. Spending two to three nights at the hostel was quite tormenting to me and because of that, I have started looking for a mess despite facing great difficulty, even if I have to take a loan," he said in that post.
Referring to the ragging by a section of the senior boarders at the hostel, Majhi said, "I have heard many stories about the main hostel. Stories of them helping flood victims, standing by the side of helpless people during the Covid-19 pandemic. I believe most of the seniors in the main hostel carry this fighting tradition. But for a few of them, I lost my classmate," he alleged.
The JU chapter of the All Bengal University Teachers' Association (ABUTA) alleged that the varsity authorities did not take any steps to stop ragging despite knowing about this practice.
Jadavpur University Teachers Association (JUTA) Secretary Partha Pratim Roy called for keeping new students in a separate hostel as per UGC rules and immediately driving out former students who had been living in the hostel illegally.
"We demand exemplary punishment for those responsible for his fate," Roy said.
A spokesperson of the varsity's Arts Faculty Students Union said, "We want a full probe into the incident and punishment for the guilty. We stand by the family of the deceased. We also want that allegations of physical torture of freshers are not raised again."
In the evening, Governor Bose paid a visit to the hostel and spoke to the boarders to understand how the incident took place.
He also spoke to the father of the deceased and assured him of "stern action" against those who were responsible for the death.
Meanwhile, Swapnadip's maternal uncle in a letter to the Registrar demanded a "proper, full-fledged inquiry into the incident".
Registrar Basu said the letter from the maternal uncle has been referred to the internal inquiry committee meeting of the university.
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4 children test HIV positive in MP govt hospital; contaminated blood transfusion suspected
Satna/Bhopal (PTI): Four children suffering from thalassemia have tested HIV positive at Satna District Hospital in Madhya Pradesh allegedly due to contaminated blood transfusions, officials said on Tuesday.
The case is four months old and an investigation is underway into it, an official said.
Officials suspect the use of contaminated needles or blood transfusions for the spread of infection to the children.
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MP Health Minister Rajendra Shukla told reporters in Bhopal that he has ordered a probe into the matter and sought a report.
“It is also being investigated whether the blood transfusion took place in other hospitals also or only in the government hospital,” he said.
The affected children, aged between 12 and 15 years, received blood transfusions from the hospital's blood bank, as per an official.
Devendra Patel, in-charge of the blood bank at Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel District Hospital in Satna, said four children have tested HIV positive and an investigation is underway to determine how they got infected.
"Either an infected needle was used or a blood transfusion occurred. These are the two main reasons I believe. Blood transfusion seems to be the most likely cause," he told PTI Videos.
All these children suffer from thalassemia, and some have received 80 or 100 blood transfusions, he said.
A family member of one of the affected children said that their child was found to be HIV positive during a routine checkup about four months back, and he has been receiving medication, but it had proven to be of no use.
After taking the medication for HIV, the child starts vomiting, feels low and becomes ill, he said.
After the four children were detected with HIV infection, their family members were also tested and the results came out negative, he added.
The Opposition Congress targeted the government over the matter and demanded the resignation of Health Minister Shukla.
Speaking to reporters in Bhopal, Congress MLA and former minister Sachin Yadav claimed such incidents were continuously occurring in Madhya Pradesh.
Earlier, a case of toxic cough syrup came to light in Chhindwara, followed by incidents of rat bites at hospitals in Indore and Satna, and now children have been given HIV-infected blood, he said.
"The health minister is unable to manage the department. He should resign. A murder case should be filed against those responsible for the Satna incident," Yadav said.
Senior Congress leader Sajjan Singh Verma termed it a failure of the government. Chief Minister Mohan Yadav's government has no connection with ground realities, he charged.
"Somewhere rats are roaming in hospitals, somewhere children are being given HIV-infected blood. Instead of preventing HIV, you are spreading it. Mohan Yadav should wake up from his slumber. Children are the nation's heritage and should be taken care of," he added.
