Three years after his 17-year-old son allegedly died following ragging at Jadavpur University’s (JU) main hostel, the victim’s father continues to wait for justice, with trial hearings repeatedly postponed and several people named in the university’s internal inquiry yet to face action.

The young student fell from the second-floor balcony of the university’s main hostel, located beside the Jadavpur Police Station, on August 9, 2023. He had allegedly faced ragging, harassment and mental torture at the hands of other hostel boarders, including former and then current university students.

The chargesheet was filed in October 2023, and the trial began in March 2024. However, speaking to The Hindu, the victim’s father said that justice has continued to elude him even after continued visits to the court and police station.

He said that no one turns up for the hearings, which are now under way at the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) court in Kolkata, and the dates are postponed each time. “I am completely alone, poor and powerless. Why should I have to bear the burden of losing my child when the people who abused him and caused his death are roaming about freely?” the father asked.

So far, the Kolkata police have arrested 12 people in connection with the case. However, the victim’s father said that the internal inquiry conducted by the university had identified several other accused persons in connection with the incident.

“What happened to all these people who were named in JU’s own internal investigation? Why have they not been brought to justice?” the victim’s father said.

“My son always said that one day the world would know his name. We never thought that day would come through his death. It breaks my heart to think that a young, bright boy like him was robbed of his life right at the beginning,” the father added.

Long road to justice

Since the 17-year-old’s death, several accounts of ragging and harassment by senior and former students inside the college hostel have come to light. This led the university to bifurcate junior and senior students’ hostels into different buildings to avoid conflicts.

Several students, who did not wish to be named, told The Hindu that they had been asked to follow the orders of seniors inside the hostel premises, including restrictions on their choice of clothes, being asked to buy alcohol for seniors and being at their beck and call for various odd demands. They were threatened with dire consequences if they dared to report the matter to the authorities.

A year after the JU incident, another horrific incident inside an educational institution shocked West Bengal. On August 9, 2024, a postgraduate doctor was raped and murdered on the premises of R.G. Kar Medical College and Hospital. The mother of the R.G. Kar victim took a different path in her search for justice and entered electoral politics, unlike the father of the Jadavpur University victim, who continues to place his faith in the country’s legal system.

Both crimes sparked massive public protests and became defining moments in West Bengal’s recent history. Yet, years later, the outrage has faded and the crowds have dispersed, but justice has continued to elude both sets of parents, despite their different journeys, as court hearings drag on and they continue to search for answers about their children’s deaths behind the closed doors of courtrooms.

Published - August 08, 2026 12:32 am IST