Kolkata law student gangrape: Prime accused Monojit Mishra had one-liner for every girl – ‘Will you marry me?’

Prime accused Monojit Mishra. (Photo credit: @manik199/Twitter)

Monojit Mishra, the main accused arrested by Kolkata police on Thursday in the gangrape of a 24-year-old first-year student at South Calcutta Law College, is a history-sheeter, with multiple FIRs against him in Kalighat, Kasba, Alipore, Haridevpur, and Tollygunge, Hindustan Times reported.

Mishra, a practising criminal lawyer at Alipore court, was arrested on June 27 along with two current students of the college, Zaib Ahmed (19) and Pramit Mukherjee (20). The crime allegedly took place inside the campus, in the security guard’s room, between 7.30 pm and 10.50 pm on June 25. The security guard was also arrested later. All four individuals are connected to the college.

As per TOI, Mishra, also known as Mango, always had a predilection for sexual depravity and violence with marked psychopathic tendencies. His conversation starter "Tui amay biye korbi (Will you marry me)?" with the 24-year-old collegian he raped on the campus on Wednesday was not the first time he had asked the question. Mishra had posed the same question to ‘many other girls’ on the campus.

Although Mishra is no longer a student, he was working at the college on a casual basis. College’s Vice-principal Nayna Chatterji said that the college's governing body recruited him about 45 days ago on a contractual basis. “TMC legislator Ashok Kumar Deb is the president of the governing body,” she said. However, Deb denied involvement to Mishra’s college appointment. “People take photos with me all the time. I cannot be blamed for what they do privately,” HT quoted him as saying.

In 2019, Mishra was charged with allegedly tearing a woman’s clothes inside the college. That same year, he was accused of stealing valuables, including a gold chain, speakers, and perfume, from a friend’s home in Haridevpur.

In 2022, a woman in Kasba filed a harassment complaint against him. As recently as May 2024, he allegedly assaulted a security guard and damaged property at the college, leading to the administration to lodge a complaint.

According to The Telegraph, he has also been booked in several other cases, including for assault, sexual harassment, and vandalism.

A college insider told TOI that Mishra used to morph pictures of girls and circulate them among his friends. "He filmed private moments with women and showed it to his friends. He had a tendency to record videos of almost everything. He and his aides used to click photographs of women and post them in groups, body shaming them and maligning them," she said.

A report by NDTV stated that Mishra comes from a middle-class family in Kalighat. His father is a temple priest and his mother suffers from neurological issues. His father allegedly distanced himself from him years ago due to his violent behaviour and political involvement.

Notably, Mishra had once called for the harshest punishment for rapists. On August 16, 2023, after a rape and murder case involving a woman doctor at RG Kar Medical College, he posted on social media: “Want death sentence for the rapist. Want justice and not drama.” That same man is now facing gangrape charges himself.

Mishra had earlier claimed on social media to be the former unit head of the Trinamool Chhatra Parishad (TMCP), the student wing of the TMC, at his college. Several photos also show him with senior party leaders. However, the TMC has now distanced itself from him.

TMCP’s state president Trinankur Bhattacharjee said that Mishra only held a junior post in the past and that he was not part of the current committee. “Can any organisation take responsibility for what someone may do in their personal life later?” he said.