A preliminary post-mortem report says death possibly by drowning of a former Jadavpur University student whose body was pulled out of a pond on the campus on Wednesday, said an officer at Jadavpur police station.
He said they were awaiting a final autopsy report to be sure about the cause of death and the circumstances leading to the death. The viscera report is likely to be available after two weeks.
The family of Muhammad Asif Mandal, who studied architecture at JU, said he could not swim.
“He drifted into the centre of the pond, which is quite deep, after the fall,” the officer said.
His friends, the family said, have told them that Asif was sitting on the edge of the pond on the campus and accidentally slipped into the water.
Apparently, none of those around him could swim.
Muhammad Safikul Alam Mandal, an elder brother of Asif, said: “He was sitting right where the steps touch the water. Friends said Asif slipped and fell backward into the pond when they were leaving the site and climbing up the steps.
“Asif did not know swimming. His two friends who were with him could not swim, too. They called for help.”
Safikul, a polytechnic graduate, said: “When I spoke to one of his friends, I was told that the police pulled out my brother from the water and took him to SSKM Hospital. He was declared dead at SSKM.”
He said although they were not suspecting anybody, the family want the police to “carry out a thorough probe” to ascertain the cause of death.
“My brother did not drink. He used to smoke. My father is a retired constable of Kolkata police. On Thursday, he went to the campus to see the pond and understand what possibly could have happened,” Safikul told The Telegraph.
“We had enrolled him in a swimming club but he stopped going there. He would have been still alive had he learnt swimming,” Safikul said.
This newspaper visited the campus on Thursday and saw the pond was partially fenced by an iron grille.
Asif, who had cleared his school-leaving exams from Barisha High School, had left home in Behala’s Parnashree in southwest Kolkata around 1pm on Wednesday to celebrate Holi with friends.
On the JU campus, many students of the architecture department mourned the death of Asif.
“Asifda was very helpful to junior students. Our assignments include making models. Whenever we would have any difficulty with models, he would help us,” said a fifth-year student.
When this newspaper asked pro vice-chancellor Chiranjeeb Bhattacharya whether the university would fence the pond to prevent any more death by drowning, he said: “We will soon convene a meeting about this.”