JU ragging-death case: 13 arrested accused booked under POCSO Act

All the 13 people arrested in the ragging-death of a 17-year-old undergraduate student of Jadavpur University were booked under POCSO Act, police said on Friday.

The accused were booked under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act, 2012 (POCSO Act) as the boy was allegedly paraded naked on the second floor of the main hostel before he jumped off the balcony on August 9, a police officer said. The homicide section of the Kolkata Police formed a special investigating team (SIT) to probe the death.

”The case will now be investigated by the homicide department of the Kolkata Police. They have already taken over the probe. And since the deceased was a juvenile, we have booked all the 13 arrested accused under the POCSO Act,” the officer said. The West Bengal Commission for Protection of Child Rights (WBCPCR) had insisted that the accused be booked under POCSO Act.

On August 9 night, the 17-year-old student hailing from Nadia district died after allegedly falling from a second-floor balcony of the main boys’ hostel near the campus.

His family alleged he was a victim of ragging as well as sexual harassment.