Two JU students accused of abetting suicide of visibly impaired female student

Two students of Kolkata’s renowned Jadavpur University (JU) have been accused of abetting the suicide of a visibly impaired female student of the same university.

This is the second time in recent months that the spectre of abetted suicide has reared its ugly head in the university. On 10 August 2023, the body of a first-year Bengali honours student was detected in front of the balcony of the male students’ hostel, and investigations revealed a ragging angle behind the tragedy.

In the present incident, 20-year-old Renaissance Das, a second-year student of English and a resident of the Malbazar area in West Bengal's Jalpaiguri district, reportedly died by suicide on 18 January. Eight days after the incident, her family filed a complaint at the local Mal police station, accusing a student and a research scholar, both visibly impaired, of abetting her suicide.

West Bengal police sources said the family has alleged that Renaissance ended her life out of frustration, as the two accused students were allegedly putting mental pressure on her to consume narcotics within the university premises.

Commenting on the late decision to register the complaint, the victim’s father Biswajit Das said her family were so shocked by the tragedy that it took them a while to get over their grief. “But finally, after coming out of the shock, we decided to register the police complaint to ensure punishment for the accused,” he said.

He also said his daughter had been in a state of shock since the ragging-related suicide of the first-year student in August 2023. “In addition to that incident, the constant pressure from the student and research scholar depressed her even more. So we decided to bring her back home and took her for psychological counselling. She used to go to Kolkata accompanied by her mother on examination days. But the two students used to constantly call and disturb her,” he said.

It is learned that the victim’s family have also forwarded a copy of the complaint letter to the JU authorities on this count. The police have started a detailed investigation in the matter.

In September 2023, an anti-ragging squad of the university had submitted a report to the authorities, suggesting the expulsion of 35 senior students staying in the hostel where the UG student had died in August.

The squad also supported another recommendation by an anti-ragging committee to expel four senior students from the university for their alleged direct involvement in the ragging of the first-year student, leading to his fall from the balcony.

With inputs from agencies