Calcutta, Sept. 7: An undergraduate student who was staying at Jadavpur University’s main hostel without taking permission from the authorities drowned in a pond on the compound today.

A group of boarders were with Zoram Thara — who was not a student of the university — when he drowned in the Prince Anwar Shah Road property around 4am today. Some of them alerted the night guard when they saw the youth drowning.

Unable to trace Zoram, the guard later woke up hostel officials, who telephoned the police. “After the police, too, failed to locate the body, we sought the help of the fire services department. Divers fished out the body around 7.15am,” said a hostel official.

Guests of students are allowed to stay in the hostel for a day or two after taking permission from the authorities. None of the boarders had approached the authorities so that Zoram could spend Monday night in the hostel, added the official.

Some boarders claimed that the youth was sharing a room with a third-year electrical engineering student who hails from Mizoram.

“The third-year student left the hostel on Tuesday afternoon without informing us. His sudden disappearance has increased our suspicion that there could have been foul play behind the drowning,” said a teacher of the university.

JU registrar Pradip Kumar Ghosh said the incident would be probed.

“We will also start our own inquiry tomorrow to find out how the boy entered the campus and how he drowned,” said Ghosh.