Had CCTVs been installed earlier, my son wouldn't have died: father of JU ragging victim

As work on the installation of CCTV cameras on campus gets underway at Jadavpur University (JU) amid the ragging-related death of a first-year student on 10 August, the victim’s father has said that had this initiative been taken earlier, he and his wife would perhaps not have lost their 17-year-old son.

“It is a proven fact now that the students’ hostel where the mishap took place was a den of several immoral activities. Had the CCTV been installed there, the JU authorities would have been aware of the kind of mental harassment and ragging that new students like my son had to go through. I would probably not have lost my son had this initiative been taken earlier,” the father of the deceased youth told a section of the media.

However, he added that he is happy that at least the authorities have realised the need to install CCTV cameras, ignoring the opposition to it from a section of students. “We have lost our son. But let no other parent face the same tragedy. Mere installation of CCTV cameras will not be enough. There should be proper maintenance of these gadgets,” he said.

As informed by the JU authorities on Saturday, a total of 29 artificial intelligence-enabled CCTV cameras will be installed in 10 locations, one of which will be the main entrance gate to the main students’ hostel where the tragedy unfolded on 10 August.

At the same time, entrance and exit gates of the university campus have been given special focus when installing the cameras. Two CCTV cameras will be installed at each of these gates. The administrative building of the university will also be brought under CCTV surveillance.

JU insiders have admitted that all past attempts to install CCTV cameras on campus failed primarily owing to resistance from a section of students' unions. However, this time, there was not much resistance, probably owing to the tragic nature of the incident.