As public outrage intensifies over the alleged gang-rape incident at South Calcutta Law College, new information has surfaced revealing that the college had previously flagged serious concerns about the conduct of the prime accused, Monojit Mishra.
According to a report by CNN-News18, college authorities had alerted Kolkata Police about Mishra’s behavior as far back as 2018. In a letter dated December 12, 2018, then principal Debasish Chattopadhyay expressed concerns over Mishra’s disruptive activities on campus. The letter, addressed to the Joint Commissioner of Police, specifically requested security arrangements for the college’s annual cultural programme scheduled for December 13 at Ahindra Mancha in Chetla, citing fears that Mishra could cause disturbances during the event.
A similar appeal was made by the college administration in 2022. Ahead of the annual programme on March 24 that year, the institution again highlighted Mishra’s previous record of creating trouble during college functions and sought adequate security measures to ensure order.
Mishra, a former leader of the Trinamool Congress student wing and an ex-student of the law college, was recently arrested in connection with the alleged rape of a 24-year-old student. The incident reportedly occurred on June 25 inside a security guard’s room on the South Calcutta Law College campus.
The complainant alleged that Mishra had earlier proposed marriage to her—a proposal she had declined. She claims that he raped her in the presence of two other students, Zaib Ahmed and Pramit Mukherjee.
All three were arrested and remanded to police custody until July 8. A fourth arrest was made shortly after, involving college security guard Pinaki Bandyopadhyay, who was also linked to the case.
A medico-legal examination conducted on Mishra revealed scratch marks on his body, which investigators believe may be signs of resistance from the survivor. However, Mishra’s lawyer countered this claim, stating that the marks were “love bites” rather than evidence of struggle.
The case has sparked widespread protests and drawn attention to the college’s past warnings, which now appear to have gone unheeded.
