Police charge 12 with abetment to suicide

Twelve current and former students of Jadavpur University, who were arrested in connection with the death of a first-year student in August this year, have been charged with abetment to suicide of a minor in the charge sheet filed by the Kolkata Police on October 19, senior Kolkata Police officers said.

The first-year student of JU, aged 17, was allegedly ragged and sexually harassed before he jumped to his death in the hostel on August 9. The police arrested 13 students after the incident.

While the 12 charged students are in judicial custody, one former student who was arrested on charges of allegedly preventing police from entering the campus during the course of investigation was released on bail a few days later.

"We have submitted the charge sheet in which 12 former and current students have been charged under Section 305 (abetment of suicide of a minor) of the Indian Penal Code. They have also been charged under Section 12 of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (Pocso) Act," said a senior IPS officer aware of the developments.