Rape isn't the first shock: Assaults, ragging and neta interference plagued Kolkata's law college for years; all you need to know
KOLKATA: The rape of a student of a college in the heart of south Kolkata near a main thoroughfare is the culmination of violence, political interference and illegal activities at the institute in the past few years.
The 50-year-old college on Swinhoe Street, off Gariahat, relocated to a new G+6 storey building in 2019. Sources said there were multiple incidents on both campuses. In 2017, the principal's room was vandalised in a fracas between two TMCP groups over funds for the freshers' welcome programme. This prompted the then education minister Partha Chatterjee to scrap the TMCP unit at the college. A cop complaint was registered at Gariahat PS.
Manojit Mishra, the prime accused in the rape case, was then the TMCP unit president and was arrested along with two other students. They were later released.
Within months of the college shifting to the new building at Kasba in 2019, there was a scuffle between students that spilled onto the main road. Again in 2022, a scuffle between two groups led to rampant vandalism in which an elderly person from the area was severely thrashed.
In 2024, a fourth-year student was badly beaten up by Mishra and his aides, and a plaint was registered against them. During that time, another fourth-year female student registered a harassment and ragging plaint against Mishra and indicated that he was so influential that no one dared to take action against him.
Current students said though the union was officially dissolved in 2017, some students continued to wield influence and claimed to be TMCP members.
Teacher-in-charge Nayna Chatterjee said ex-students and outsiders had free access to the college. "The official hours are from 9 am to 4 pm and we try to shut the gates thereafter. But some students refuse to leave the campus. I have reported this to higher officials several times," she said.
Ex-students alleged large-scale political interference, with local netas often attending programmes on campus under the party banner. An ex-student said, "We used to have regular classes till noon. Thereafter, most students would go for practice under seniors or attend internship programmes. The college authority has failed to stop these hooligans as these people have been active for many years."
(The victim's identity has not been revealed to protect her privacy as per Supreme court directives on cases related to sexual assault)
The 50-year-old college on Swinhoe Street, off Gariahat, relocated to a new G+6 storey building in 2019. Sources said there were multiple incidents on both campuses. In 2017, the principal's room was vandalised in a fracas between two TMCP groups over funds for the freshers' welcome programme. This prompted the then education minister Partha Chatterjee to scrap the TMCP unit at the college. A cop complaint was registered at Gariahat PS.
Manojit Mishra, the prime accused in the rape case, was then the TMCP unit president and was arrested along with two other students. They were later released.
Within months of the college shifting to the new building at Kasba in 2019, there was a scuffle between students that spilled onto the main road. Again in 2022, a scuffle between two groups led to rampant vandalism in which an elderly person from the area was severely thrashed.
In 2024, a fourth-year student was badly beaten up by Mishra and his aides, and a plaint was registered against them. During that time, another fourth-year female student registered a harassment and ragging plaint against Mishra and indicated that he was so influential that no one dared to take action against him.
Current students said though the union was officially dissolved in 2017, some students continued to wield influence and claimed to be TMCP members.
Teacher-in-charge Nayna Chatterjee said ex-students and outsiders had free access to the college. "The official hours are from 9 am to 4 pm and we try to shut the gates thereafter. But some students refuse to leave the campus. I have reported this to higher officials several times," she said.
Ex-students alleged large-scale political interference, with local netas often attending programmes on campus under the party banner. An ex-student said, "We used to have regular classes till noon. Thereafter, most students would go for practice under seniors or attend internship programmes. The college authority has failed to stop these hooligans as these people have been active for many years."
(The victim's identity has not been revealed to protect her privacy as per Supreme court directives on cases related to sexual assault)
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