JU student death: 1 more held, court remands to police custody till Aug 24

A city court on Sunday remanded a former student of Jadavpur University, who became the 13th person to be arrested in connection with the death of a first-year undergraduate student, to police custody till August 24.

The police have slapped a case under Section 353 (use of criminal force to deter public servant from discharge of his duty) of the IPC against the accused, the state prosecutor told reporters.

The judge at the Alipore Court granted police custody of the accused till August 24 on a prayer by the prosecution for interrogating him.

The prosecution lawyer said the accused person, along with others, had allegedly prevented police personnel from speaking to the victim when he was being taken to hospital, and that the gates of the hostel had been forcefully closed to prevent them from entering.

The police had on Friday arrested three current students of the varsity in connection with its probe into the death of the undergraduate student, who was allegedly ragged and sexually harassed, leading to his death after falling from a second-floor balcony of the main hostel building.

Earlier, nine former and current students of JU were apprehended. All of them are in police custody.

The prestigious 67-year-old university has sent a detailed report to the University Grants Commission on multiple queries about alleged ragging and sexual harassment of the 17-year-old undergraduate student, as directed by the statutory body.