13 arrested accused booked under Pocso Act in JU ragging death case

All 13 people arrested in the ragging-death of a 17-year-old undergraduate student of Jadavpur University were booked under Pocso Act, police said.

The accused were booked under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act, 2012 (Pocso Act) as the boy was allegedly paraded naked on the second floor of the main hostel before he jumped off the balcony on August 9, they said.

The homicide department of the Kolkata Police formed a special investigating team (SIT) to probe the death.

"The case will now be investigated by the homicide department of the Kolkata Police. They have already taken over the probe. And since the deceased was a juvenile, we have booked all the 13 arrested accused under the POCSO Act," a police officer said on Friday.

The West Bengal Commission for Protection of Child Rights (WBCPCR) had earlier insisted that the accused be booked under Pocso Act.

On the night of August 9, the 17-year-old student hailing from Nadia district died after allegedly falling from the second-floor balcony of the varsity's main boys' hostel. His family alleged he was a victim of ragging as well as sexual harassment.