The adviser to the West Bengal Commission for Protection of Child Rights, Ananya Chatterjee Chakraborti, said CCTV cameras should be installed at the hostels of Jadavpur University and on the campus, not for “moral policing” but to prevent crime.
She also wants the university authorities to restrict the entry of outsiders into the hostels.
Chatterjee Chakraborti called on the parents of the dead first-year JU student in Nadia on Sunday. In the evening, she visited Jadavpur University.
The first-year student died early on Thursday, hours after he was allegedly thrown from the second-floor of the main hostel.
As the victim was not yet 18 and Pocso has been cited now, he can no longer be identified under law.
A former student at JU and two second-year students at the university have been arrested in connection with the death.
“There has to be systemic reforms to avoid such incidents. We have to move beyond the notion that CCTV means moral policing. Unless there are CCTV cameras, it would be difficult to identify cases of crime,” Chatterjee Chakraborti told The Telegraph.
She said CCTV cameras should be installed outside “hostel gates”.
The authorities should also ensure that registers where the names of the people entering the hostels are recorded are maintained properly.
“Jadavpur University is not another planet. It is in Bengal and they have to follow rules. They cannot get away because of academic brilliance,” she said.
On Sunday, Chatterjee Chakraborti recorded the statement of the victim’s father and the mother in Nadia.
The parents recounted what had happened on Wednesday and the phone calls that were made, said Chatterjee Chakraborti.
“We will ensure that the people responsible for the student’s death are brought to book and get the strictest punishment,” she said.
The commission for protection of child rights has written to governor C.V. Ananda
Bose, who is chancellor of Jadavpur University, requesting him to enquire and take “necessary steps that may seem fit and proper” in connection with the student’s death and share his report with the commission.
The commission has also sought a report from the Kolkata police commissioner on how such an incident could occur on the premises of a hostel of an educational institution.
The commission has sought from police a list of unauthorised residents at the hostel and the reasons for their stay there.
“We will give a set of recommendations to the university,” said Chatterjee Chakraborti.