Kolkata law college rape: ‘Mango’ Mishra turned student union room into bar, drank every evening with friends

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

Monojit Mishra, the key accused in the shocking rape case at South Calcutta Law College, allegedly turned the student union room into a makeshift bar and regularly consumed alcohol there with his friends, according to a former student, NDTV reported.

The former student, who joined the college a year before Mishra in 2016, revealed that the accused, popularly known as 'Mango’, used to harass female students and had a history of violence within the campus. "He used to drink every evening with his friends inside the union room. It was like a party spot," she was quoted by NDTV keeping her anonymity request.

Mishra, once a student leader affiliated with the Trinamool Congress Chhatra Parishad (TMCP), the student wing of the ruling party, was arrested in connection with the alleged rape of a 24-year-old woman on campus last month. The woman told police she was sexually assaulted inside a guardroom on the night of June 25 by one of three men who cornered her after a party meeting.

According to her police complaint, the accused - identified only by the initials 'J', 'M' and 'P' - coerced the security guard to vacate his post, locked the college’s main gate and forced her into the guardroom. "'J' undressed me and started raping me. When I fought, he blackmailed me," the survivor alleged. She claimed she pleaded and even touched the man’s feet, but he did not stop, NDTV reported,

The complaint further states that she was held for nearly three hours before being released around 10.50 pm, with threats not to disclose the incident to anyone. Four people have been arrested so far, including Mishra and a security guard.

Mishra’s history at the college is long and chequered. Initially joining in 2007, he dropped out in 2012 after being active in campus politics, especially after the Trinamool Congress rose to power in West Bengal in 2011. He re-enrolled in 2017 and graduated in 2022, subsequently joining the college as a temporary clerical staff member, reportedly earning Rs 500 a day, according to the college’s vice principal who told NDTV.

His past is riddled with multiple police complaints. In July 2019, he was accused of ripping off a female student’s dress. Another complaint was lodged in March 2022, accusing him of molestation in Swinhoe Lane. In May this year, he allegedly assaulted a college guard and damaged property during an altercation.

The same woman who spoke to NDTV also recounted an incident where Mishra beat up a security guard. "He used to threaten to shoot staff over small issues," she claimed.