Another student from South Calcutta Law College has accused Manojit Mishra of molestation, alleging he locked her in a room, undressed her, and pulled her hair. The incident adds to the ongoing gang-rape case already filed against him.
Kolkata: Today, on June 2, Kolkata is facing serious questions about women’s safety on college campuses after a 24-year-old first-year law student at South Calcutta Law College filed a gang-rape complaint against 31-year-old Manojit Mishra and three others.
Now, another female student has come forward, alleging that Mishra had molested and threatened her two years ago.
According to a report by media, the second complainant, a second-year law student, shared her painful experience from October 2023.
She said that the incident happened during a gathering attended by college students, where Manojit was also present.
Mishra, who is a former student of the college and currently serves as the Organising Secretary of the South Kolkata district unit of the Trinamool Congress Chhatra Parishad (TMCP), was already in police custody for allegedly being involved in the recent gang-rape of the first-year student.
He was arrested along with two other accused – Zaib Ahmed and Pramit Mukhopadhyay – and remanded in police custody till July 8. A fourth accused, security guard Pinaki Banerjee, was sent to police custody till July 4.
The case has caused a public outcry and increased concern over the protection of women students in Kolkata, especially since it comes less than a year after the horrifying rape and murder of a post-graduate medical trainee at RG Kar Medical College.
In the new allegation, the second-year student claimed that she had stepped into a vacant room to answer a phone call from her father during the college event.
While other students were enjoying and dancing outside, Mishra allegedly entered the room and locked the door behind him.
She told media,
“I saw a vacant room and stepped inside to take my father’s call. Just as I was about to step out, I saw Manojit enter and lock the door from inside. He was visibly drunk and had also consumed weed. He started walking towards me. I asked him to let me leave, but he ignored me and kept coming closer,”
The student added that Mishra behaved aggressively, grabbed her by her hair, and began to molest her.
She said,
“He came towards me aggressively, pulled me by my hair, and dragged me to the balcony of the room. He then started undressing me. I pleaded with him to let me go, but instead he dared me to shout louder. Fortunately, a senior female student began knocking on the door, and in a hurry, he fled the room,”
The student also mentioned that Mishra used a remote control to increase the volume of the music playing outside to cover any noise.
This is not the first complaint against Manojit Mishra. Multiple complaints of molestation, harassment, physical violence, and even extortion have reportedly been filed against him over the years. Even male students have claimed they were bullied and harassed by him on campus.
According to a report by media, Mishra had first enrolled at South Calcutta Law College in 2012 but was expelled the next year due to criminal behaviour.
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He took admission again in 2017 but once again caused chaos on campus, including ransacking college property.
He was later barred from entering the campus. Despite eventually passing out in 2022, he reportedly maintained a strong influence over college affairs.
Mishra also has a history of violent behaviour off-campus. In April this year, he was arrested for attacking a police officer.
The situation arose after he had a fight with a security guard at an ATM, and when the guard called the police, Mishra manhandled the police officer. Though arrested, he was granted bail soon after.
In September last year, he allegedly tried to kill another student and has not been regularly seen at the college since then.
As for the ongoing gang-rape case, the 24-year-old first-year student filed her complaint on June 26. She said she had gone to college to submit a form for a test and was forced to stay back in the students’ union room after completing her work.
The police officer who handled the case told reporters:
“Then one of the three accused proposed her to marry but she refused telling them she was already in a relationship.”
In her police complaint, the victim said,
“I denied and fought back. I cried and asked him to let me go. I told them I have a boyfriend and I love my boyfriend. But he did not listen.”
The victim said that Mishra then threatened to harm her boyfriend and falsely implicate her parents in criminal cases.
He confined her within the college premises and reportedly hit her with a hockey stick. She started having trouble breathing and asked for her inhaler. After using it, she was taken to the room of the security guard near the students’ union office. It was there that the alleged sexual assault continued.
She told the police,
“I touched his feet but he didn’t let me go …”
She further said that while Mishra raped her, the other two accused watched silently and did nothing to help.
As per report, doctors examining Mishra after his arrest found scratch marks on his body, which were consistent with signs of physical resistance during a sexual assault. Police believe these marks, caused by fingernails, support the victim’s version of events.
During the investigation, a nine-member Special Investigation Team (SIT) from Kolkata Police reviewed the call detail records (CDR) of the accused. They discovered that Mishra had a phone conversation with the Vice Principal of the college, Dr. Nayna Chatterji, on the morning after the incident.
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