The prime accused in the Kolkata law college gang rape case, Monojit ‘Mango’ Mishra is reported to have has wide influence and power in the college. This influence and connections with the Trinamool Congress, according to a NDTV report, allowed Mishra to dodge several past FIRs before the rape on the 24-year-old law student in Kolkata.
Monojit Misra stands as the prime suspect. The co-suspects who have also been arrested are Pramit Mukherjee, Zaib Ahmed and the college’s security guard. They are accused of gang rape and videographing the heinous act to blackmail the survior.
Who Is Monojit Mishra?
The accused, called "Mango" by his friends, had joined the Law college in 2007. He was due to graduate in 2012, but dropped out before completing the course. He rejoined in 2017 and passed out in 2022, according to NDTV reports. He then rejoined the campus as a contractual faculty.
During his time as a student in college, Mishra became involved in campus politics and the Trinamool college unit. According to a PTI report, Monojit led the college unit of the Trinamool College Chhatra Parishad, the student wing of the ruling TMC in West Bengal, since 2017.
In 2017, he was allegedly a part of the vandalism of the principal’s office, after which the TMC campus unit was dissolved. But, unofficially, Monojit was still the “student neta” as the college did not hold any student body polls since 2017, the NDTV report added.
Students say he often leveraged proximity to the party's top leaders, and everyone on campus, including teachers, feared him for these connections. Female students even skipped certain classes to avoid meeting Mishra, claimed the report.
Reportedly, an anonymous student from the Kolkata College said, “ There was an atmosphere of intimidation on the campus. He used to click photos of female students, morph them and circulate them on WhatsApp groups. He also sexually harassed them. There was so much intimidation that students were scared to attend classes."
His Previous Misdemeanours
Monojit Mishra has faced several police cases in the past. Some of the complaints of harassment and molestation had been raised against him would eventually subside as he claimed proximity to TMC higher-ups.
According to NDTV, his past offences include:
1) Ripping off the dress of a woman student at South Calcutta Law College in July 2019.
2) Stealing a music system, perfume, and spectacles from a friend's home in Dec 2019.
3) Molesting a woman in Swinhoe Lane in March 2022.
4) Physically assaulting a man and getting arrested later in April 2017.
He is also accused of beating up a college guard and damaging college property in a May 2024 case.
College students have told The Times of India that Monojit would click pictures of female students, morph them and circulate them on WhatsApp groups. The accused and his friends would then body-shame them and gossip about them on campus.
The accused’s father, Robin Mishra, is a priest in Kalighat. He has said to the media in interviews that Monojit had been living separately for about four years. Robin claimed that he worked very hard to provide his son with a good education, but broke off ties due to his involvement in politics and frequent brawls.
The Crime On 25 June
The survivor has alleged in her complaint that Monojit and the two other accused, Pramit Mukherjee and Zaib Ahmed, called her to the college's union room around 7 pm on June 25. However, classes are usually over by 5 pm, after which the gates must be closed. The victim has alleged that a security guard on campus assisted the accused.
She has said that once she reached the union room, Monojit asked her to "prove her loyalty" to Trinamool's student wing. While trying to leave the room, she was dragged to another room and raped there. The accused shot videos and threatened her to stay mum.
