JU pro-V-C found dead in flat

KOLKATA: Samantak Das (57), the pro-vice-chancellor (VC) of Jadavpur University (JU) was found hanging inside his residence in Regent Park on Wednesday afternoon.

Police broke the door of his flat and rushed Das to MR Bangur hospital where he was declared brought dead.

The domestic help of Das arrived at his residence around 1:30 pm on Wednesday. Despite knocking on the door repeatedly when Das did not respond, the domestic help called his relatives who in turn called the cops. Police arrived at his residence at the Regent Park Government Housing Estate around 2:30 pm. After breaking the door, Das was found hanging from the ceiling fan using a cotton belt as ligature. Police have searched his flat but no clue or any note was found.

Forensic experts and cops from the scientific wing of the Kolkata Police on Wednesday evening went to the flat and collected samples for testing. However no foul play was detected. Das had joined as the professor of the Comparative Literature department in 2005. He had headed the department from 2007 to 2009. He became the acting pro-V-C of JU in September 2021 for a year. V-C of JU, Suranjan Das said: "The JU family today lost one of its most important functionaries who had been a prominent face of the varsity. When I became the JU vice-chancellor in 2015, Samantak Das was among the few people who had made me very comfortable and helped me get."