In September a suspicious death of Jadavpur University professor Mainak Pal was reported in a hotel room in Uttarakhand, where his throat was slit and there were deep incisions on his hands and neck. He was found dead on November 8 because the hotel management had to forcefully open his room door after they could not reach his family. Pal who was a teacher in the Philosophy Department was anticipated to come back that day. Although the preliminary post-mortem indicated that it was suicide, a detailed report will be released later, police and university sources said.
I received condolences from the Jadavpur University Teachers Association who commented on Pal’s passing saying that he was a brilliant teacher and a prolific researcher. Partha Pratim Roy the general secretary of the association noted that the university community is in a state of shock. Pal’s body is expected to reach Kolkata by Sunday evening.
Pal had gone to the hills of Uttarakhand with two friends and was expected to return on Friday. Previously, he was teaching at government colleges, and he was an associate professor at Presidency University in 2022 when he joined Jadavpur University. He has a wife, a daughter and both his parents flown away. The university community remains in a state of basketball over this young death.
