Rape accused should be hanged, says law college vice-principal after GB meeting
Times of India | 2 July 2025
Kolkata: The vice-principal of the law college where a first-year student was gang raped said the perpetrators should be hanged even as the governing body expelled Monojit Mishra and decided to appeal to the bar council for the cancellation of his licence to practice in court. "The rapists should be hanged for committing such a heinous crime on the college premises," Nayna Chatterjee, the vice-principal of the law college said after the governing body meeting on Tuesday. The meeting had been convened following a nudge from the higher education department to discuss issues that have come to the fore in the wake of the incident.
The governing body expelled the key accused, Mishra, who was working as a casual staff member at the college since last year. He will also be asked to return the money that he had been paid by the college. Pramit Mukherjee and Zaib Ahmed — the other two accused — were barred from the campus and won't be able to get admission to any institute in Bengal. The governing body will also appeal to the bar council for the cancellation of Mishra's licence.
College operating hours have been revised. The new timings will be from 7 am to 2 pm, instead of the previous schedule of 9 am to 4 pm. It has been decided that all college activities and services should be completed within this time period. No one will be allowed to stay on the college premises after working hours. If the family agrees, the governing body is ready to provide monetary assistance, including covering the survivors' medical treatment. New CCTV cameras will be installed at prominent positions.
The Internal Complaints Committee (ICC) has been formed following the Vishakha guidelines. The college had a seven-member sexual harassment cell that was non-functional, but a proper ICC was formed by the governing body on Tuesday. The governing body has terminated the contract with the private security agency and blacklisted it. The college will select a new security service provider, prioritising enhanced surveillance systems, strict personnel verification, and comprehensive security protocols to ensure safety on the college campus. The college will appoint female security staff, too.
The governing body president Ashok Deb said: "GB has strongly condemned this incident, and we want all the accused to receive the highest punishment. No one will be spared, and GB members will cooperate with the investigative agency.
" He also stated that classes would stay suspended until police permission was given to start regular classes, but the office will be functional from Wednesday.
Sibranjan Chatterji, the govt nominee and the veteran educationist in the governing body, said: "There were some complaints made against him that were not about molestation, and it was GB's decision, not the individual's.
" He also admitted that police verification was not done when a casual staff was appointed to check people's criminal records. Haripada Banik, teaching staff representative in the governing body, said, There were all types of pressures by Monojit and his associates, and he introduced a threat culture on the campus".