TOI reconstructs the real crime that led to campus gang rape
Times of India | 5 July 2025
Cops on Friday took the accused in the law college rape case to the scene of crime and reconstructed what happened last Wednesday to come up with a water-tight case in court. But the crime that Monojit Mishra, Pramit Mukherjee and Zaib Ahmed are alleged to have committed is bred by several systemic faults — of both omission and commission — that give these criminals a sense of immunity and impunity.
CRIME & NO PUNISHMENTMonojit Mishra, the main accused in the alleged gang rape of the 24-year-old law student, was a repeat offender with 11 cases, including molestation, registered against him at multiple police stations such as Kalighat, Haridevpur, Kasba, Tollygunge and Gariahat. He was arrested thrice.
The charges included outraging modesty, attempted murder, causing grievous hurt, criminal intimidation, theft, rioting, and wrongful restraint. Though charge sheets were submitted in all 11 cases, he got bail within a short time in each case.
There were four charges of molestation against Mishra, including one in 2019 where a female student accused him of tearing her clothes in the college and another in 2022 when a woman accused him of assault, theft, and vandalism.
Among the past cases were allegations of assaulting a man in Kalighat in 2017, stealing gadgets and electronic items from a friend's home during a New Year's Eve party in Jan 2020, and a complaint of beating a security guard in the law college in May 2024.
CHAIN INACTION Apart from the 11 cases, the former principal of the law college wrote a letter to the Kolkata Police Joint Commissioner (HQ) in Dec 2018, expressing concerns over Mishra and his associate's problematic conduct during college programmes and sought security for the college's social programme.
Despite being accused of vandalism, Mishra was not only allowed access to the institution, but he was also recruited on the alleged recommendation of the college managing committee. A student said that a sexual harassment complaint was lodged, but no action was taken against him.
LATERAL ENTRY Mishra first took admission to the law college in 2012 but was expelled the next year for his criminal activities. He then took admission again in 2017. That very year, he ransacked the campus, following which he was again barred from the campus. Mishra subsequently graduated in 2022. In 2023, after the TMCP unit at the college was dissolved, Mishra was rehabilitated, brought back to the campus, and unofficially given control of the college. Monojit's Facebook profile showed that he was a former president of the college TMCP unit.
In 2024, he re-entered as an ad-hoc staff member despite objections from a majority of students and teachers to control the college and its admissions. His recruitment did not follow any procedures. He was handed the job on a platter at the governing body (GB) meeting on July 2, 2024, where only four members out of eight participated, including GB president and Budge Budge MLA Ashok Deb and vice-principal Nayna Chatterji, GB secretary. The majority of teachers and students raised objections. A student said that the vice-principal assured them that Monojit had changed.
CONTROL OVER CAMPUS Mishra had demi-god status among a section of students and the administration. He had access on his phone to the college CCTV footage and blackmailed students and teachers with footage to extort. He had the keys to the guard room, union room, and even the campus. He had access to every document on the campus, like details of students, and would call them over the phone or even send his cronies to issue threats at their residences. He reportedly controlled 10-15 admissions each year, with a going rate ranging between Rs 50,000 to Rs 2 lakhs for each admission. Mishra had no assigned job role. He signed the attendance sheet for the entire month at a time and attended campus mostly after duty hours. If any teacher spoke against his irregular attendance or bribery, he issued death threats. Wielding his political clout and connections, he would threaten to kill students and do harm to their families if they spoke against him. Some female survivors were scared to lodge complaints after they were molested by him since they received threats. He had the audacity to walk into a classroom during lectures and call his associates away. He was also the admin of all the WhatsApp groups in the college. He morphed pictures of female students on nude pics and blackmailed them by circulating them. He stayed at the campus till late at night and engaged in drinking and other sorts of substance abuse.