Law student gangraped inside Kolkata campus, TMC youth leader, two others arrested

In a chilling replay of campus crimes haunting Bengal, a 24-year-old woman was allegedly gangraped inside the premises of South Calcutta Law College on June 25 evening, triggering outrage, arrests, and a fresh political firestorm.

Two days after the incident, police arrested three men in connection with the incident — including a 31-year-old Trinamool Congress student leader and two current students — all accused of sexually assaulting the woman inside the college campus after allegedly luring and trapping her.

The arrested include Monojit Mishra, a former student and the general secretary of the South Kolkata district unit of the Trinamool Congress Chhatra Parishad (TMCP); Zaib Ahmed, 19, a first-year student; and 20-year-old student Pramit Mukherjee. All three were remanded to five days of police custody by a local court on Thursday.

Survivor alleges brutal assault, blackmail

According to her detailed complaint, the woman had visited the college around noon on Wednesday to submit examination-related forms. While waiting in the union room, she was allegedly locked in by the accused, led by Mishra, who then dragged her to a security guard’s room where the gangrape took place between 7:30 pm and 10:50 pm.

The FIR states that Mishra, enraged by her rejection of his marriage proposal, threatened to kill her and her boyfriend, and also claimed he could get her parents arrested. She was allegedly physically assaulted with a hockey stick, forcibly undressed, raped, and filmed. The accused reportedly used the videos to threaten her into silence.

“I touched his feet and begged him to let me go… but they forced me into the guard room and raped me,” the woman told police, adding that she was injured while resisting.

Accused tracked, phones seized

Following her complaint, two of the accused — Mishra and Ahmed — were arrested from Kasba in South Kolkata on Thursday evening. The third, Mukherjee, was apprehended from his residence shortly after midnight. Mobile phones believed to contain the assault videos were seized.

The campus has been sealed for forensic investigation, and preliminary medical tests have confirmed assault. Witness statements have also been recorded, police said.

Political blame game erupts

The involvement of a TMC youth leader has triggered a fresh political storm, with the BJP accusing the ruling party of enabling a culture of impunity.

BJP leader Suvendu Adhikari lambasted the state government, blaming lax policing and claiming that Kolkata Police was diverted to non-core duties during the Rath Yatra. “Mamata Banerjee has no moral right to continue as Chief Minister,” he declared.

Amit Malviya, head of BJP’s IT Cell, called the incident “horrific” and linked it to a pattern of escalating crimes against women in Bengal. “West Bengal has become a nightmare for women,” he posted on X.

In contrast, TMC MP Kalyan Banerjee called the crime “shameful” but shifted responsibility to individuals, arguing, “It is not possible to deploy police at every college.”

Kolkata Mayor Firhad Hakim promised to seek updates from law enforcement, saying, “It is an extremely serious matter.”

The incident comes months after a similar case at a Kolkata medical college shook the state, reigniting questions over campus safety, political interference in student bodies, and the government’s commitment to protecting women in educational institutions.