2 accused filmed assault to blackmail survivor: Police source on Kolkata rape case

A police source on Monday informed that not one but two of the accused recorded the assault of a 24-year-old student at South Calcutta Law College on their mobile phones. According to police source, the prime accused, Manojit Mishra, filmed the crime on his device, while another accomplice recorded the incident from outside the window of the security guard’s room where the attack occurred.

The source told IndiaToday.in that several still photographs of the survivor were also taken during the assault. During the overnight interrogations, the accused admitted to capturing the brutal incident and confessed that the videos and images were intended to be used as tools to blackmail the survivor into silence.

Earlier, last week, the police had seized the accused’s mobile phones, which contained the incriminating footage and photos, and sent them for forensic analysis to determine if the material was shared.

The horrific crime took place in the security guard’s room on the college campus after the survivor rejected a marriage proposal from Mishra. Enraged by the denial, Mishra forcibly took her to the room, where he raped her, while accomplices Zaib Ahmed and Pramit Mukherjee stood there and one recorded the crime. The security guard was instructed to remain outside during the incident.

A medical examination conducted on June 26 at Calcutta National Medical College confirmed the savagery of the assault, revealing evidence of forceful penetration, bite marks, nail scratches and an abrasion on the survivor’s neck, though no cuts were reported.

The accused have been remanded to police custody and a nine-member Special Investigation Team (SIT) is investigating the case. The case has triggered widespread outrage in Kolkata, with protests erupting across the city, drawing parallels to last year’s RG Kar Medical College rape-murder case, when a second-year post-graduate medical student was raped and murdered inside the RG Kar Medical College and Hospital on the intervening nights of August 8 and 9, 2024.

The National Commission for Women has demanded a swift probe, while political tensions escalate, with the BJP accusing the ruling Trinamool Congress of shielding Mishra, who is a former student wing leader.

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