JU Student’s death under investigation; 40 people on CCTV to be questioned

NEW DELHI: At least 40 people were captured on CCTV camera footage on the evening of September 11 near the pond inside Jadavpur University, where the body of a third-year English Literature student was found, a senior officer of Kolkata Police said on Thursday. Investigators are planning to question all of them before Durga Puja, he added.

CCTV camera footage from the vicinity, particularly near a bathroom near the pond inside the JU campus, has become key to the case, he said. "Our officers believe that the answer to the mysterious death of the student may lie in the CCTV camera footage. They are analysing the footage to determine if anyone entered the area and failed to exit.

CCTV footage under police review

Around 40 people were captured on CCTV that evening. All may be questioned before Durga Puja," the officer said. On Wednesday, six students of the varsity were questioned by the investigating officers. "All those who were questioned yesterday claimed they did not know the deceased," he said. The officer said efforts will be renewed to locate the student's missing purse and glasses, with divers likely to be deployed again in the lake, he added.

"We are investigating whether this is a case of an accident or a premeditated crime?" the officer said. The English Literature student was found unconscious in the pond on the night of September 11 and declared dead at a nearby hospital. Post-mortem examination indicated "drowning" as the cause of the girl's death. The police, however, initiated a murder case after the parents lodged a complaint in this regard.