KOLKATA: The Dean of Science at Jadavpur University, who was the head of an internal committee set up to probe a student’s death following an incident of ragging tendered his resignation on Sunday triggering murmur about the fate of the ongoing inquiry.
Subinay Chakrabarty’s resignation came a day after West Bengal Governor C V Ananda Bose appointed Buddhadeb Sau, a mathematics professor, as the officiating vice-chancellor of the university. The premier institution in Kolkata was being run without a VC.
Chakrabarty, as the head of the internal eight-member probe committee, visited the hostel building where the victim fresher was staying and collected statements of many students which pointed towards suspected incidents of ragging that apparently led to the tragedy.
Chakbaraty was in charge of the university in the absence of the registrar of the institution on August 9 when the tragedy took place. The committee also sent a report to the University Grants Commission (UGC) on Saturday describing that ragging seemed to be one of the 'probable causes' behind the student’s death.
Chakrabarty, however, mentioned personal issues as the reason behind his resignation, but his unhappiness over the issue of Sau’s appointment as the officiating VC was doing the rounds. A section of professors of the university found the governor’s decision to select Sau as the VC of the institution led the head of the internal probe committee to step down.
“Chakrabarty’s name was doing the rounds as the VC of the university. The newly appointed officiating VC was one of his students and it seems, Chakrabarty could not accept the governor’s decision,” said a professor of the university.
Unhappy with the university’s earlier report on the incident and action taken following the tragedy, the central government’s statutory body asked the JU authorities to reply to its 12-point queries within a stipulated time.
On Sunday, police arrested another former student of the university in connection with the alleged ragging resulting in the fresher’s death. The total number of arrests in connection with the incident has gone up to 13.“During the course of interrogation of the accused, we came to know there were at least 15 persons present in the hostel building where the freshers were allegedly ragged. The arrested suspects were present there at the time of the incident,” said a police officer.