• Source:JND
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A day after a third-year undergraduate student at Jadavpur University died in suspicious circumstances, the university administration on Friday admitted to serious gaps in campus security and surveillance, attributing the lapses to delays in fund release from the West Bengal government.

The deceased, identified as Anamika Mondal, was a resident of Nimta in West Bengal's North 24 Parganas district and was pursuing English (Honours).

She was rescued in an unconscious state from a pond beside the undergraduate arts building around 9.40 PM on Thursday, hours after a folk music programme arranged by the university's drama club.

She was rushed to the hospital, where doctors declared her dead. Reacting to the incident, university Pro-Vice Chancellor Amitava Dutta said, "We are devastated by the death of a student who was like our daughter. The university is looking into the chain of events and circumstances surrounding the incident and is fully cooperating with the police, who have inspected the site near Gate No. 4 where she was found."

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She added that the decision to bring the entire campus area under CCTV surveillance was taken by the executive council in August, but the authorities were yet to get the required funds to execute the decision.

Jadavpur University Teachers Association general secretary ParthaPratim said, "Representatives from a state IT firm, who had installed the CCTVs near the main gates after the death of a first-year UG student in August 2023, even surveyed the spots where the cameras can be installed and gave a quotation to the university for the project. We are waiting for the release of funds from the higher education department".

The university officials said that the girl was spotted chatting with her classmates near the waterbody earlier in the evening. The Trinamool Chhatra Parishad on Friday held a demonstration, hurling slogans and holding placards, in protest of the incident.

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BJP, on the other hand, said that the incident is horrific and raised concern over the atmosphere in Jadavpur. West Bengal BJP President Samik Bhattacharya said, "This is very unfortunate. What happened in Jadavpur is horrific. The Education Department, parents, and the entire society should intervene in this, otherwise the situation cannot change. We do not want to politicize this, but the internal atmosphere in Jadavpur, the language in which some students are speaking, the people of India do not agree with that... Our demand is that Jadavpur be free from all this..."

(With inputs from agencies)