In a disturbing repeat of last year’s RG Kar Medical College rape and murder case, Kolkata is once again in the spotlight following the alleged gang rape of a female student inside a law college in Kasba on Wednesday evening.
The incident has raised fresh concerns over women’s safety and prompted widespread condemnation.
The police acted swiftly, arresting all three accused—Monojit Mishra (31), Zaib Ahmed (19), and Pramit Mukhopadhyay (20)—within 24 hours of the incident. All three are either former students or staff members of the same law college where the incident occurred.
According to the police, the crime took place between 7:30 pm and 10:50 pm on the college premises. One of the accused allegedly committed the sexual assault while the others were actively involved. All three are now in custody and are expected to be produced before the Additional Chief Judicial Magistrate of Alipore, South 24 Parganas, as the police seek custody for further investigation.
The victim’s family lodged a police complaint, and authorities seized the mobile phones of the accused and secured the crime scene for forensic analysis.
The father of the RG Kar Medical College victim voiced his anguish over the recurring pattern of violence against women. “Such incidents are happening again and again. After what happened with my daughter, many people came out on the streets in protest. Even after that, such incidents continue to occur,” he said.
He pointed to political accountability, stating, “The government has a significant role in this… All three people arrested are from the TMC, so this political party should ensure that such incidents do not happen again. The accused should be severely punished.”
Political reactions were swift and sharp. BJP West Bengal targeted the ruling Trinamool Congress (TMC), alleging, “Some posts need no captions. They are self explanatory,” while sharing a graphic that labelled TMC as “Terror, Molester and Corruption.”
In response, TMC leader Shashi Panja condemned the assault but pushed back against the political narrative. “There was an immediate postmortem and dissection to look at the names and the religion. You have to condemn the incident… The police took immediate action, and within 12 hours of the complaint, three people were caught,” she said at a press conference.
She added, “Trinamool Congress Student wing is not teaching the students to rape… If [BJP] want to be in Bengal as a responsible Opposition, then they have to behave responsibly.”
The police have assured that a thorough investigation is underway, and the site remains under protection until forensic experts complete their examination.