Jadavpur University’s anti-ragging squad on Friday decided against conducting a further investigation into the complaint of ragging that allegedly led to the death of a first-year student, officials said.
The squad will give its suggestions by next week on a report of an internal committee which has already probed the complaint.
A member of the squad said they had decided against conducting a further inquiry because that would be yet another drawn-out affair.
He said that at a time when the university stands accused of inaction in regard to the complaint of ragging leading to the death of a first-year student last month, they could not risk a further probe.
“A further probe will mean waste of time. The university has been accused of not taking any action against those found guilty in an internal probe of ragging that allegedly led to the death of a first-year undergraduate student. So the squad declined to carry out any further probe. Additional suggestions have been sought from the members of the squad by Wednesday,” the member said.
The squad will again meet on October 3 and whatever is decided at that meeting will be forwarded to the anti-ragging committee.
The committee will then consider the recommendations of the squad and send its decision to the executive council, the university’s highest-decision-making body.
JU’s officiating VC, Buddhadeb Sau, told Metro on Thursday that the university had not engaged an authorised forum — the anti-ragging squad — to probe the death of a 17-year-old-boy and this was causing a delay in meting out punishment to those who allegedly ragged the student.
Sau had said: “It was not clear to me why an internal committee was constituted to probe the death on August 10, the day the 17-year-old boy died, instead of assigning the task to the squad, as mandated by the UGC.”
Sau was appointed VC on August 20. The internal committee was set up by pro-VC Amitava Dutta.
A JU official said some members of the squad was in favour of further probe into the complaint regarding the student’s death.
“But the overwhelming opinion was against any further probe on the ground that this would come in the way of awarding punishment. The committee has recommended measures like summary expulsion from the campus and suspension for the semesters against those who have been guilty of ragging.... The squad did not want to undermine the task of the committee,” he said.
The VC said on Friday: “I will comment after going through the resolutions of the squad’s meeting.”