Ragging death: Dissatisfied with consecutive reports, UGC team to visit Jadavpur University

Kolkata, Sep 3 (IANS) Dissatisfied with three consecutive reports from Jadavpur University (JU) on the ragging-related death of a fresher on August 10, University Grants Commission (UGC) has finally decided to send own team from the commission’s anti-ragging cell which is arriving at the campus on Monday.

The commission has already sent intimation to the JU authorities on this count and said that during the field visit the members of the anti-ragging cell of the commission will be interacting with the faculty members and students of the university separately.

JU insiders said that main intention of commission, as intimated to the university authorities, is to conduct a thorough survey on how far the anti-ragging guidelines set by the commission have been implemented in JU as well as to get an explanation on the unanswered queries in the past three reports sent by the university on this count.

Meanwhile, JU insiders said that despite placing a tender for installation of 26 CCTV cameras in the different corners of the university, uncertainty is still looming over the actual installation as in the last meeting of all the stakeholders convened by the JU’s interim vice- chancellor Buddhdeb Sau, the students’ representatives have sought a written declaration from the university authorities on the exact points where the CCTV cameras will be installed.

“This will be a major point where the university authorities will have to give lots of explanation to the visiting field-inspection team of UGC, since installation of CCTV cameras is one of the prime conditions of the anti- ragging guidelines as set by the commission,” said a member of JU faculty who refused to be named.

He admitted that the commission team is coming at a crucial juncture when confusion is still prevailing over the resignation of the JU registrar Snehomonju Basu just after a day she received a threat letter. Police are investigating the matter.