Monojit Mishra, the main accused in the reported gangrape of a 24-year-old law student within South Calcutta Law College, has a record of long-standing criminal activities that vary from harassment to theft and assault. Currently under police custody until July 1, the 31-year-old Trinamool Congress Chhatra Parishad (TMCP) leader is accused in several criminal cases filed at various Kolkata police stations.
Who Is Monojit Mishra? A Pattern of Misconduct
Mishra, the Organising Secretary of the South Kolkata district unit of TMCP, graduated from South Calcutta Law College in 2022. Notwithstanding his graduation, it is said that he continued to exercise considerable control over the campus and student politics.
A former student of the college states that “Monojit Mishra was of the 2013 batch. He was rusticated due to his conduct, but subsequently availed readmission. He would invite girls to the union room, consume liquor there, and even abduct juniors.”
She added further that “He had many complaints filed against him, and he was warned many times. For some time, he was even restricted from visiting college to take exams. He always attempted to behave like a ‘dada’ (local goon), but we made efforts to restrain him.
A university insider in a conversation with The Times of India said that Mishra used to take and share morphed pictures of female students, record private moments, and send them to his friends. “He and his assistants would take pictures of women and post them in groups, body shaming them and defaming them,” the source added.
Criminal Record: FIRs, Chargesheets, and Arrests
Police records and student accounts indicate a disturbing pattern of conduct. The Telegraph learnt from a senior police officer, “Monojit Mishra is a history-sheeter with several cases and chargesheets against him in the Kolkata Police jurisdiction.”
In 2017, Mishra was detained for violent behavior and assault in Kalighat. Subsequently, in July 2019, he was accused of ripping a woman’s clothes at South Calcutta Law College. That led to a chargesheet against him.
In another case on New Year’s Eve in 2019, Mishra allegedly snatched a gold chain, perfume, a music system, and glasses from a friend’s home in Haridevpur. An FIR was filed in January 2020, after which police action was taken.
In 2022, he was charged with harassing another woman in Kasba. Recently, in May 2024, the college administration complained to him for physically attacking a security guard and vandalizing property.
Police also mentioned that he had threatened organizers of the “Reclaim the Night” event organized in response to the rape and murder of a postgraduate medical trainee in Kolkata last year.
Kolkata Gangrape: What Occurred on June 25?
The gangrape is said to have occurred between 7:30 pm and 8:50 pm on the college campus at Kasba. The 24-year-old victim had visited the college during the day to settle examination formalities.
She reported in her complaint that she was waiting within the college union room before being led into a trap. The accused is said to have locked the gate, whereupon she was dragged and raped within the security guard’s room.
Three people—Monojit Mishra, Zaib Ahmed (19), and Pramit Mukhopadhyay (20)—have been arrested by Kolkata Police after her complaint. All three have been charged seriously, and police have informed that the case might also include digital blackmail, since videos of the act were supposedly recorded.