- By Raju Kumar
- Sat, 28 Jun 2025 11:03 PM (IST)
- Source:JND
Kolkata Law College Gangrape: The Kolkata Law College gangrape case remained a flashpoint between the political rivals - the ruling Trinamool Congress (TMC) and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Saturday. Amid outrage by the political class, the city police continued its work. The police arrested the fouth accused and claimed that the CCTV camera footage obtained from South Calcutta Law College has corroborated the gangrape allegations made by a first-year student in her written complaint to cops.
Victim Being Forced Into The Guard's Room, Shows CCTV Footage
An investigating officer said the footage, spanning over seven hours from 3.30 PM to 10.50 PM on June 25, captured movements around the college premises, including the victim being forced into the guard's room.
"The CCTV footage confirms the girl's allegations. It shows the movements of the three accused, the security guard, and the victim. We are currently examining the footage," the officer said.
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Investigators also collected evidence from three locations on campus, the students' union room, the washroom, and the guard's room that supports the victim's claims. Seized items include strands of hair, several bottles containing unknown liquids, and a hockey stick.
"There are clear signs of a struggle in all three rooms. The samples have been sent for forensic examination," the officer added.
What Is The Case?
In her complaint, the victim reported that she was threatened with a hockey stick by the accused. Investigators also recovered a 1.5-minute video clip from a mobile phone belonging to one of the three arrested suspects Manojit Mishra (an alumnus and ad-hoc staff), along with current students Pratim Mukherjee and Zaib Ahmed.
"A forensic analysis of the video is underway. We're trying to determine if it was shared or deleted," the officer said.
On Saturday morning, police arrested college security guard Pinaki Banerjee after he failed to provide coherent responses during questioning. "The guard did nothing to protect the victim.
Evidence suggests he left the scene even as the victim was forcibly taken into his room by the main accused, while the other two stood guard outside," the officer said. So far four persons have been arrested in the case. Kolkata Police has formed a five-member Special Investigation Team (SIT), led by Assistant Commissioner of Police (South Suburban Division), Pradip Ghoshal.
The SIT is expected to record a confidential statement from the victim and her parents. The victim appeared in a city court on Saturday afternoon to provide her secret deposition. Discussing a possible motive, the officer said, "We suspect the gangrape occurred after the victim rejected a marriage proposal from Manojit Mishra, which enraged him."
Police were also trying to find out whether the entire crime was pre-planned, he said. "Going by the sequence of events, it appears that the prime accused tortured the victim after she rejected his marriage proposal. This has been corroborated by the circumstantial evidence," the officer said.
According to the investigators, the woman told the three accused that she had a boyfriend and was "happy with him" and would not "cheat him". The trio then threatened to kill her boyfriend and lodge false cases against her parents if she continued to resist the prime accused's proposal, she alleged.
On Friday, the medical examination had corroborated the law college student's allegation that she was gang raped.
National Commission for Women Intervenes In The Case
Meanwhile, the National Commission for Women (NCW) on Saturday wrote to West Bengal Chief Secretary Manoj Pant asking him to take action in connection with the crime. NCW Chairperson Vijaya Rahatkar termed the crime as "grave" which has "shaken public conscience". "This incident is not just an individual crime; it's a blow to our collective sense of security. It demands a swift and institutional response from the state," she wrote. She also requested a confidential and comprehensive internal and external medical examination report of the survivor within three days.
Trinamool Censures Kalyan Banerjee, Madan Mitra Over Their Remarks
On the political front, the TMC, officially censured a party Lok Sabha member and a party legislator for making controversial comments on the case. After the rape incident took place and three persons accused in the case, all having links with Trinamool Congress's students' wing -- Trinamool Chhatra Parishad, Kalyan Banerjee made a comment claiming that it would not be possible for government authorities to provide protection in cases, where a friend rapes another friend.
Later, Madan Mitra also made a controversial statement claiming that the rape incident had sent a message to all girls that they should not go to college when it is closed. Both the comments created a stir across the political and social circles in West Bengal.
On Saturday, Trinamool Congress issued a statement claiming that the remarks made by Banerjee and Mitra in the matter were made in their individual capacities and hence the party had unequivocally disassociated itself from their statements and strongly condemned them.
BJP Forms Fact-Finding team
On the other hand, the BJP announced the formation of a four-member fact-finding team to investigate the case of gangrape case. In a statement issued by the BJP, the four members of the party's fact-finding team in the matter have been named. They are former Union Minister as well as a former police officer Satpal Singh, former Union Minister Meenakshi Lekhi, current Lok Sabha member and former Tripura Chief Minister Biplab Kumar Deb and current Rajya Sabha member Manan Kumar Mishra. The fact-finding team will soon visit the incident site and submit its investigation report to the BJP president JP Nadda," the statement said.
(With agencies inputs)