A third-year female student of Jadavpur University’s English Department was found unconscious near a pond on the university campus on Thursday evening and later declared dead at a nearby hospital, university officials confirmed. The incident occurred during a cultural program being held on campus.
According to university sources, the student, identified as Anamika Mondal, was seen chatting with classmates earlier in the evening near Gate No. 4, close to the union room. She was later discovered lying unresponsive by the waterbody. Fellow students and university staff immediately rushed her to a nearby private medical college, where doctors pronounced her dead on arrival. Authorities suspect drowning as the cause of death, but the exact circumstances remain unclear.
Senior university officials, faculty members, and representatives of the Arts Faculty Students' Union visited the hospital following the incident. The university has informed the Jadavpur Police Station, and an investigation is underway. The student's body has been sent for postmortem examination, and further details will be released once preliminary inquiries are completed.
The tragedy has deeply shaken the campus community. The students' wing of the ruling Trinamool Congress, Trinamool Chhatra Parishad (TMCP), questioned why the cultural event was allowed to continue late into the night and demanded the release of CCTV footage from the campus. They also alleged that alcohol consumption had been taking place during the event.
This incident comes just two years after the death of a first-year Bengali honours student at Jadavpur University, who died after falling from the second-floor balcony of the boys' hostel in August 2023. That case, widely believed to involve ragging by seniors, led to protests across the university and multiple student arrests.
Kolkata police have confirmed Mondal’s death and stated that an official statement will be issued after the postmortem report and further investigation. Meanwhile, the university community mourns the loss and awaits clarity on the circumstances surrounding the tragic event.
Meanwhile, student union elections across West Bengal have been stalled for years, prompting a PIL and a High Court hearing where the state claimed that colleges showed no interest.
However, Jadavpur University refuted this, stating they are fully prepared and awaiting a government directive. As per the 2017 Act, elections must be held every two years, and the High Court has now directed the state to submit a roadmap involving 365 colleges and 10 universities, stressing that legal obligations cannot be delayed indefinitely.
