Kolkata: A 24-year-old law student was allegedly gang-raped on the premises of South Calcutta Law College in Kolkata’s Kasba area on Wednesday night, prompting swift arrests and a heated political confrontation. The Kolkata Police detained three suspects Monojit Mishra, a 31-year-old former student and practicing lawyer, and two current students, Zaib Ahmed, 19, and Pramit Mukhopadhyay, 20. The trio was presented before Alipore court on Friday and remanded to police custody until July 1.
According to the survivor’s complaint the assault occurred in a college guardroom after the guard was coerced into leaving. The complaint identifies Mishra as a former student and an influential figure in the college’s Trinamool Chhatra Parishad (TMCP) unit, the student wing of the ruling Trinamool Congress (TMC). The survivor alleges that Mishra carried out the assault while Ahmed and Mukhopadhyay stood guard, and the perpetrators recorded the act, threatening to share the footage online to silence her.
The incident has fueled a political slugfest between the opposition Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the TMC. BJP leaders, including IT cell chief Amit Malviya, shared photographs on social media showing Mishra alongside prominent TMC figures, such as MP Abhishek Banerjee, state minister Chandrima Bhattacharya, and councillor Kajari Banerjee, who is Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee’s sister-in-law.
Malviya labeled the incident “outrageous,” alleging that Mishra’s ties to TMC leadership reflect a broader failure of law and order in West Bengal under Mamata Banerjee’s governance. BJP West Bengal co-incharge Sukanta Majumdar echoed this sentiment, asserting that the incident highlights the insecurity of female students in the state’s educational institutions.
The TMC has distanced itself from Mishra, denying any significant connection. Trinankur Bhattacharya, state president of TMCP, stated that the college’s TMCP unit has been defunct since 2019 and that Mishra held no major role within the organization. The TMC condemned the assault, emphasizing that the Kolkata Police acted promptly to apprehend the suspects. The party also called for the swift implementation of the Aparajita Anti-Rape Bill, a proposed legislation advocating for expedited investigations, trials, and stringent penalties for sexual offenses. TMC leaders accused the BJP of politicizing the tragedy and obstructing the bill’s passage at the national level.
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The National Commission for Women (NCW) has taken note of the case, urging the West Bengal Police to conduct a thorough and time-bound investigation to ensure justice for the survivor. Meanwhile, protests erupted outside Kasba police station, where members of the Students’ Federation of India (SFI) and Democratic Youth Federation of India (DYFI), affiliated with the Left, clashed with police, demanding accountability.
The case has drawn comparisons to the August 2024 rape and murder of a postgraduate medical student at RG Kar Medical College, further intensifying scrutiny of women’s safety in West Bengal. The TMC reiterated its commitment to supporting the victim, with the state administration pledging comprehensive assistance during this traumatic period.