The law student who was allegedly raped inside a college in West Bengal's Kolkata told police that the accused recorded the assault on a mobile phone and threatened to upload the footage online if she spoke to anyone about the incident, news agency PTI reported, citing a police source.
“She has alleged that the three accused had kept the mobile footage of the assault and threatened to release it on the internet if she talked to anybody about the incident,” the police source told PTI.
Police added that the mobile phones of the three accused have been seized and sent for forensic analysis.
Read | Refused marriage proposal, gang-raped in college: Kolkata law student tells police
The alleged incident took place inside the law college premises, where the student was reportedly assaulted by an alumnus, with two senior students assisting him, according to a police statement issued on Friday. The incident occurred in a guard room located on the ground floor of the college building in south Kolkata on Wednesday, June 25
All three accused were arrested and presented before the additional chief judicial magistrate’s court in Alipore, which sent them to police custody till July 1.
{{/usCountry}}All three accused were arrested and presented before the additional chief judicial magistrate’s court in Alipore, which sent them to police custody till July 1.
{{/usCountry}}The accused have been identified as Monojit Mishra, 31, a staff member at the college, and students Zaib Ahmed, 19, and Pramit Mukherjee, 20.
“The three persons have been arrested based on a written complaint lodged by the victim on June 26,” a senior Kolkata police officer said.
Police stated that the woman had arrived at the college around 4 pm on Wednesday for some work, and was asked to stay back by Mishra.
While details remain under investigation, police said the three accused allegedly confined her in the guard room, where the assault took place between 7.30 pm and 10.50 pm.
The woman later informed her parents, who then contacted the police.
Accused Monojit Mishra’s social media account shows links to TMC
Mishra’s lawyer, Azam Khan, claimed his client was not involved in the crime. “These are baseless allegations against my client. He is being framed because of a political tussle,” Khan said.
The incident drew sharp criticism from the opposition Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), which linked the crime to the broader law and order situation in the state. The BJP highlighted that Mishra’s social media profile indicated close connections with the ruling Trinamool Congress.
Read | ‘Justice will be served’: TMC assures action in Kolkata law student rape case
Mishra’s profile described him as a former president of the TMC youth wing at the same college.
In response, the Trinamool Congress distanced itself from Mishra and called for strict action. In a statement, the party condemned the assault and acknowledged the arrests, asserting that “the full weight of the law will be brought to bear, ensuring the most severe measures are imposed on those found guilty.”
TMC spokesperson Jay Prakash Majumdar added, “The guilty should get the strictest punishment. Police are investigating. But, unfortunately, the leader of the opposition is launching an attack over a social menace. We should all fight this social menace together.”
Meanwhile, tensions escalated outside Kasba police station, where members of the SFI and DYFI—student and youth wings of the Left—clashed with police during a protest against the alleged gangrape of a student on the South Calcutta Law College campus.
Several protestors were reportedly injured as police used force to disperse the crowd. Authorities said an unspecified number of demonstrators were detained and taken to Lalbazar, the headquarters of Kolkata Police. The protest was staged outside the Kasba police station, where the law student had filed her complaint.