‘Team MM’ used CCTV cams, meant for security, to blackmail students, teachers
Times of India | 6 July 2025
Kolkata: Monojit Mishra, accused of raping a first-year student at a law college on June 25, could reportedly access on his phone footage from all CCTV cameras on the campus. He would scan the footage to identify the content that had potential for blackmail and used them to his advantage. Mishra would not only target students but also teachers, who dared to question his action.
"As Mishra had access to college CCTV footage, he would scan them and identify students vulnerable to blackmail. His main motive was to extort money. Sometimes he and his gang threatened girls that they would make those footage public," a student said. Around two weeks ago, on two separate instances, two girls at the college were caught on CCTV cameras in intimate positions with their boyfriends. The boys were from other colleges. A student said, "The two girls were from first year. They had called their boyfriends and gone up to the sixth floor of the building to spend some time together. ‘Team MM' got hold of those footage.
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According to students, the CCTV footage was edited and Mishra's gang, who call themselves ‘Team MM', blackmailed the two girls, demanding "a fine" of Rs 2,000 each. When other students protested on the WhatsApp group against this "moral policing", Mishra's gang threatened them at his behest. The students said the administrators of the WhatsApp group were Mishra and his two female associates—a second-year student, "appointed as the general secretary" by Mishra, and her friend. "The videos from the CCTV cameras were edited separately. The two girls were identified. They were told that unless they paid a fine of Rs 2,000 each the CCTV footage would be sent to their parents," said a student. When some protested on the WhatsApp group against this ‘moral policing', pointing at the regular presence of outsiders on the campus, the two female aides reportedly issued threats. "One girl said if anything had happened that day, the college would have been tagged as the ‘place of occurrence' and it would have maligned the institute's name. The other girl said they would decide on the ‘next course of action'. If the matter escalates, the consequences will not be good, she told us," a student said. Mishra reportedly called the girls to the union room and lectured them on the college's reputation. His two female associates insulted the girls and gave a ‘blanket instruction' to all not to access the sixth floor "without their permission".
A first-year student said, "The irony is that on the WhatsApp chat, the ‘MM group' would often say the college was not a ‘barowari' place. After the rape on June 25, the truth about who had free access was exposed.
"Talking about his clout, a college official said Mishra used the CCTV footage to blackmail even teachers. "If a teacher spoke against Mishra's activities, he would scan CCTV footage of that teacher and then blackmail the person for say, coming in late for a few days. The CCTV, which was installed for the security of the campus, turned out to be a weapon for Mishra who used it to terrorise people," the official said.