Jadavpur University ragging: Cannabis cultivation on hostel balcony angle being probed by police

The death of 17-year-old Swapnadeep Kundu has shed light on the many illegal activities that have been unfolding on the Jadavpur University (JU) campus. One such menace that has come to the fore is the cultivation of cannabis.

The Kolkata police investigating Kundu’s mysterious fall from the second floor of the hostel in JU has reportedly uncovered suspicious images from a mobile phone of one of the students which shows cannabis cultivation on the hostel’s balcony. The image, according to sources cited by India Today, has now been deleted.

As per police sources, several mobile phones of students and residents of the hostel were seized to get electronic evidence of ragging. The phones were sent for forensic examination and to recover deleted data if any including chats. An image was found during this examination giving rise to the suspicion that the illegal substance is being cultivated in the JU campus premises.

“A photo came to our notice while recovering the deleted digital evidence from a student’s mobile in the forensic lab. That still picture shows cannabis being cultivated in a flowerpot. The photo was deleted from the mobile phone for unknown reasons after the first-year student died. It seems to be suspicious; we are probing the matter,” a Kolkata police official reportedly said.

The University reportedly stands to face another big charge under relevant sections of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act if the authenticity of the said image is proved.

On Wednesday (23rd August), the Kolkata Police revealed that the 17-year-old student was forced to run naked from one room to another in the hostel building before his death. The officials confirmed that he was ragged and ran from one room to another to hide before his unfortunate death.

The police have pieced together the sequence of events that took place at the JU Main Hostel on the evening of August 9 just before the 17-year-old’s tragic fall.

Investigators claim they have proof of ragging against the 12 accused who have been arrested so far, and they believe that the student was “disrobed, bullied, and abused with homosexual slurs.” Police reportedly learned that moments before his death, Swapnadeep was heard screaming “I am not gay…I am not gay”, claim sources.

The 17-year-old, who was now naked, walked to Room No. 65 and attempted to lock himself out but was unsuccessful. Senior students began pursuing him as he began to run between rooms on the second level, according to the police. The cops said that this went on until 11 p.m. However, the mystery surrounding the 17-year-old’s tragic fall from the hostel building’s second level remains unsolved.