Spotlight back on campus safety: Law college gangrape case bring back memories of RG Kar horror; city reels in disbelief
Times of India | 28 June 2025
KOLKATA: A 24-year-old law student of a south Kolkata college was allegedly gang-raped on campus late on Wednesday by a former Trinamool Chhatra Parishad office-bearer now on an ad hoc teaching assignment and two junior students, rekindling the shock and outrage of the Aug 2024 rape-murder of a postgraduate resident at RG Kar Medical College and Hospital. Prime suspect Manojit Mishra, an alumnus of the institute, and students Pramit Mukherjee and Zaib Ahmed were arrested within hours of each other after the survivor underwent a medical test on Thursday that corroborated her complaint about gang rape. Law Student Gangraped Inside Kolkata College; TMC Youth Leader Among 3 Arrested | Shocking Details
The woman said she was taken to the security guards’ room and sexually assaulted after she spurned Mishra’s marriage proposal. “I touched his feet, but he did not let me go,” she wrote in her complaint, based on which the Kasba police station registered an FIR. Image Credit: PTI“They (Mishra and the two students) took me to the guards’ room forcefully, undressed and raped me. ”PollDo you believe that stricter regulations are needed on college campuses to prevent sexual assault?Yes, absolutelyNo, current measures are sufficientMishra a key figure in several instances of unrest on college campus, say sourcesThe survivor said the trio video-recorded the crime and threatened to circulate the clips if she reported it to police. One of them allegedly struck her with a hockey stick when she attempted to fight back. Her torment lasted from 7. 30pm till 10. 50pm Wednesday, by which time the campus was almost deserted. The complaint mentions that she told the suspects that she was having a panic attack and short of breath. She pleaded with them to take her to a hospital, which they refused. Police quoted her as saying that the trio only allowed her to use the inhaler she had in her bag. When she was allowed to leave after over three hours of being held captive and allegedly gang-raped, the survivor called her father. He arrived soon after and took her home. The law student told investigators that she was on campus to submit an examination form. She was about to leave when Mishra asked her and seven other students to stay back in the TMC union room for a chat. The survivor said she was offered biscuits and offered a post in the students’ union. After she pledged her allegiance and commitment to the union, Mishra allegedly asked her to step outside, took her aside and proposed marriage. Her refusal to accept the proposal left him so enraged that he conspired with two others to sexually assault her, she said. “The survivor’s preliminary medical examinationwas done at Calcutta National Medical College and Hospital,” joint commissioner of police (crime & traffic) Rupesh Kumar said, adding that witnesses had been examined and their statements recorded. Mishra and second-year student Zaib were arrested around 7. 30pm Thursday from near the Kasba police station, while first-year student Pramit was picked up from his residence shortly after midnight. Police confiscated the suspects’ mobile phones, suspecting the sexual assault may have been filmed. The three suspects were produced in Alipore court Friday and remanded in police custody till July 1. “Medical evidence corroborates the woman’s version,” public prosecutor Sourin Ghosal told the court. Sources said Mishra had been a key figure in several instances of unrest on the campus of the 50-year-old college. RG Kar rape-murder caseA Kolkata court has sentenced Sanjay Roy to life imprisonment after finding him guilty of raping and murdering a 31-year-old doctor at the RG Kar Medical College and Hospital. The Sealdah court also imposed a fine of Rs 50,000 on Roy and directed the West Bengal government to pay Rs 17 lakh as compensation to the victim’s family. Roy, a former civic volunteer with Kolkata Police, was found guilty by Additional District and Sessions Judge Anirban Das. The crime, which took place on August 9, 2024, had triggered widespread protests and condemnation. He was arrested a day after the doctor’s body was discovered in a seminar room inside the hospital. The court convicted him under sections 64, 66, and 103(1) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita. The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), which led the probe, presented forensic and digital evidence including DNA, toxicology reports, and CCTV footage that placed Roy at the crime scene. The victim had sustained multiple physical injuries and Roy’s personal items were recovered nearby. The CBI's findings, based on the statements of over 120 witnesses, concluded the victim had died due to strangulation and smothering. Investigators described it as a "rarest of rare" case. (The victim's identity has not been revealed to protect her privacy as per Supreme court directives on cases related to sexual assault)