Police officers probing the allegations against two youths for offering admission in Jadavpur University’s engineering department against money said they were trying to identify the person whom the duo had approached with the offer of a seat.
An officer said the complaint was lodged by the university pro-vice-chancellor but he apparently told the cops that he came to know about the incident only through students of the university.
Sources said the university authorities had shared the contact number of the student who had apparently posed as a candidate and caught the accused duo allegedly offering a seat for cash “red-handed”.
Police said they would start examining students of the university to collect evidence in support of the allegations against them.
The arrested — Suraj Mukherjee and Souvik Mandal — were produced before the court on Thursday and remanded in police custody till December 27.
Mandal’s lawyer Partha Sarathi Banik said Mandal and his friend were members of the students’ wing of the Trinamul Congress and had gone to JU to meet a senior who was doing PhD there.
“My client and his friend were walking with a senior PhD student in the university when suddenly a mob came and started harassing my client. All the allegations against my client are false,” said Banik.
The police said they were yet to verify these claims.
Biswajit Das, a PhD scholar from JU’s philosophy department who was accused by the students’ union in the engineering faculty of being involved with the arrested duo, has written to vice-chancellor Suranjan Das alleging that he was subjected to physical assault and harassment by the students’ union.
“I was heckled, beaten and brought before the Fetsu (faculty of engineering and technology students union) and physically and mentally tortured for a prolonged period of time. I state that I have no connection with the alleged individuals whatsoever….,” Biswajit wrote in his letter.
When contacted, the VC said pro-VC Samantak Das was dealing with the issue.
Pro-VC Das said the university was in the process of constituting a committee to probe the complaints levelled against Biwajit and another research scholar, Mithun Majumder.
Investigators on Thurs-day submitted a prayer before the court requesting to add a section of criminal breach of trust under section 409 of the IPC.
The police had earlier charged the duo under IPC sections of attempt to cheat and criminal conspiracy.