– Mita Mukherjee

A first-year student of West Bengal National University of Juridical Sciences (NUJS) died on Monday allegedly after falling from the sixth floor of a hostel building. He was taken to a nearby hospital where he was declared dead. No suicide note was recovered till Tuesday morning.

Nineteen-year old Juven Joss Jebin who hailed from Kerala reportedly fell from the terrace of the seven-storey hostel building. He was found lying bleeding on Monday morning.

“He was a very very bright boy. I am still unable to reconcile myself. It was only last week he performed a skit during the NUJS Night Celebrations where he played my role. Can you imagine how I feel. It took me a long time to come to terms with myself. It is a terrible loss for me as a teacher and also for the institution,” NUJS vice-chancellor O V Nandimath told EducationWorld.

The incident has nothing to do with “academic pressure” or ragging, the vice-chancellor said.

University officials said the police has registered a case of unnatural death. Post-mortem examination are to held on Tuesday after the arrival of the student’s parents. Preliminary investigations by the police have suggested personal issues but all angles are being examined as well, officials said.

But according to the vice-chancellor the death of the student is an ” irreparable loss” and the institution will immediately take slew of measures to prevent young bright students from taking such drastic decision.

The vice-chancellor said the entire university on Tuesday was trying to offer all possible assistance to the family of the deceased student to complete the necessary formalities and take the body to their home state. The law minister of Kerala contacted the vice- chancellor to inquire about the incident.

Immediately after this process is complete, the university will start working on the process to ensure better mental well-being of students.

” Every such incident gives an opportunity to introspection. Our present student support system is quite good. Preliminary police investigations suggested personal issues. But as an institution we can’t relax. We have a bigger role to play to ensure better mental well-being of our students,” the vice-chancellor said.

He said the university is planning to set up a committee headed by an independent person who deals with adolescent behaviour to evaluate the existing infrastructure support facilities.

“I have already contacted an expert from Nimhans Bangalore who particularly deals with adolescent behaviour and requested him to work with us. He will evaluate the present support system and suggest measures for improvement,” the vice-chancellor said.

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