Cops could have recorded the statement of the first-year student at Jadavpur University who died after allegedly being ragged had not a group of present and former students blocked their access to him at the hospital, police submitted in the court on Sunday.
The statement, if recorded, could have been the most crucial piece of evidence in the investigation into the 17-year-old’s death, the chief public prosecutor told the magistrate in the Alipore court after Joydip Ghosh, a former student at JU who was arrested on Saturday, was produced for remand.
A senior police officer said the first-year student was reportedly unconscious
when he was taken to the hospital.
“We have submitted in the court today that accused Joydip Ghosh and others had stopped the police from entering the hostel campus by closing the gate from inside and then by not allowing the police to reach the injured student while he was being admitted to the hospital,” chief public prosecutor Sourin Ghosal said on Sunday.
Ghosh has been booked for allegedly deterring public servants from performing duty.
“We are not aware about the condition of the student at that time. But our submission to the court was that the police were stopped from approaching the student irrespective of his health condition,” Ghosal said.
The first-year student was allegedly ragged and thrown from a second-floor balcony of Jadavpur University Main Hostel on the night of August 9. He died early next morning.
The police said that pursuing Ghosh’s statement, they have learned the names of a few other current and former students who had allegedly locked the gate of the hostel after the student fell, blocking the entry of the police, and prevented cops from going near the student at the hospital.
Officers at Jadavpur police station had started a suo motu case on August 10 saying a team had gone to the hostel after receiving information about the student’s fall but could not enter as the gate was locked from inside and was not opened despite repeated pleas.
A few minutes later, a taxi came out of the hostel gate and the police team trailed the taxi to a private hospital.
“Some current and former students, including Ghosh, had stopped the police team from approaching the injured student while he was being admitted to the hospital,” an officer said on Sunday.
An investigator said Ghosh had identified at least six students and former students who were allegedly with him during the non-cooperation with the police.
“We will examine each of them and verify their statements,” the investigator
said.
Police sources said Ghosh was apparently not present inside the hostel when the first-year student fell to his death.
“He stays in Bikramgarh. He was called by a student and informed about the incident. Then he went to the hostel as a ‘senior’”, said an officer.
Altogether, 13 students and former students have been arrested.
All but Ghosh have been charged with murder.
Ghosh has been remanded in police custody till August 24.