‘He had demi-god status’: Monojit Mishra's return turned Kolkata law college into campus of fear – Girls started skipping classes

Kolkata rape accused Monojit Mishra (Photo credit: @manik199/Twitter)

The return of Monojit Mishra, prime accused in the rape of a first-year student, to the South Calcutta Law College in mid-2024 as an ad-hoc staff member caused widespread fear and discomfort among students, especially girls. Monojit had a long and troubling history with the college, and many students say his presence drastically altered the atmosphere, The Times of India reported.

Girl students revealed that once Monojit was back on campus, they felt so uncomfortable that they stopped attending classes. “The entire environment changed. His presence was intimidating. I used to attend all my classes until mid-2024, but after he returned, I avoided college altogether. I switched focus to internships instead,” TOI quoted a second-year student as saying.

“He would click girls’ photos, post them on groups, and propose to every other girl,” a fourth-year student said. Even male students weren’t spared. Some said they were bullied and harassed by him as well.

Mishra, an alumnus with a long record of campus violence, was expelled in 2013, re-admitted in 2017, and later barred again for ransacking college property. He finally graduated in 2022. But in 2023, following the dissolution of the college's TMCP unit, he was informally brought back and given de facto control, according to a Times Now report.

When he was officially brought in as ad-hoc staff in 2024, students protested, warning the administration that his background made him a serious threat, especially to girls. “But no one listened,” the fourth-year student said.

After his return, students said factional fights on campus increased. Some alleged that Monojit had unauthorised access to private student data, including phone numbers and addresses, and used this to issue threats, either by calling directly or sending others to confront students at home. Another student said Monojit had a demi-god status among some of the students and the administration.

A second-year student told TOI that Monojit was merely an ad-hoc staff member but he had the audacity of walking into a class during lectures and calling his associates away. "Sometimes, he would even call students outside from inside a class to threaten them," she said. A fifth-year student said, "Our past years’ experience had been bitter. We stopped going to college as his gaze on women was disturbing."

“He was just an ad-hoc staffer but acted like he ran the place,” a second-year student said. “He could walk into classes, pull out students mid-lecture, or call his people in the middle of lessons. It was terrifying.”