'I touched his feet but he did not let me go': Kolkata law student who was gang-raped inside college premises after rejecting marriage proposal recounts horror; accused filmed act, threatened survivor

KOLKATA: A law student of a south Kolkata college was allegedly gang-raped at the campus security guards' room on Wednesday evening after being offered a key union post.Cops arrested three persons — college alumnus and ad-hoc staff Manojit Mishra and current students Pramit Mukherjee and Zaib Ahmed — after a medical test on the survivor corroborated her complaint.

Mishra was thrown out of the college's Trinamool unit in 2021 and graduated in 2022, after which he started practising law.

He, however, returned to the college recently as an ad-hoc non-teaching staff member. First-year student Mukherjee and second-year student Ahmed are known to be close aides of Mishra. The survivor is a resident of a South 24 Parganas town and commutes to college every day.The incident reportedly occurred on the campus between 7.30 pm and 10.50 pm on Wednesday. The 24-year-old survivor, also active in campus politics and known to be a Trinamool supporter, told cops that she went to college on Wednesday for filling up an exam form. Most students left after the process but Mishra asked her and seven other students to stay back at the union room where she was offered biscuits and a key union post.

She said she was totally devoted to the college union and willing to work for the unit, after which Mishra took her outside the union room and proposed marriage.

She flatly refused this proposal, following which she was forcibly taken to the guards' room."I touched his feet but he did not let me go. They took me to the guards' room forcefully, undressed me and raped me," her complaint said, adding that the accused recorded videos of the act and threatened to circulate them if she went to cops. She tried to fight back and escape but was hit with a hockey stick, she said.She was allowed to leave only after she complained she was having a panic attack and was short of breath. She pleaded that they take her to a hospital, a request that was denied; but she was allowed to use the inhaler she had in her bag, she added. She was finally allowed to leave around 10.50 pm, when she called her father who came and took her home.

Accused sent to police custody till July 1

The woman lodged the complaint with Kasba cops on Thursday. "The preliminary medical examination was done at Calcutta National Medical College and Hospital," joint commissioner of police (crime & traffic) Rupesh Kumar said, adding that witnesses had been examined and their statements recorded.

Additional commissioner of police Santosh Pandey and South Suburban Division deputy commissioner Bidisha Kalita visited the scene of crime on Friday evening.Mishra and Ahmed were arrested around 7.30 p.m. on Thursday near the Kasba P.S.; Mukherjee was arrested from his residence just after midnight on Friday. Cops have seized the trio's mobile phones, suspecting the sexual assault may have been filmed, and have secured the crime scene for forensic investigation.

The accused were produced at Alipore court on Friday and sent to police custody till July 1. "The medical evidence corroborates the woman's version," public prosecutor Sourin Ghosal submitted in court.The principal of the college said the college could not evade responsibility though the incident happened more than three hours after classes gave over. Calcutta University vice-chancellor Santa Datta De said the college teacher-in-charge had been asked to submit a detailed report and the university would set up a fact-finding committee by Tuesday.Kolkata Police later issued a social media statement, commending the local police station's "swift and decisive response" to the complaint. "The investigation is being pursued with seriousness, professionalism and sensitivity. We appeal to the public and digital platforms to refrain from circulating unverified or misleading content that could hinder the judicial process and compromise the dignity of the survivor," it added. (The victim's identity has not been revealed to protect her privacy as per Supreme court directives on cases related to sexual assault)