Kolkata gang-rape case: College security guard arrested, 5-member SIT formed

The police on Saturday (Jun 28) arrested a security guard of South Kolkata law college in Kasba, where a 24-year-old student was allegedly gang-raped on Wednesday (Jun 25) evening. The arrest is the fourth in the case after earlier arrests of a staffer, Monojit Mishra (31), and two students – Zaib Ahmed (19) and Pramit Mukherjee (20) – on Thursday (Jun 26). According to the police, the incident took place between 7:30 pm and 10:50 pm on Wednesday.

A five-member Special Investigation Team (SIT) has been formed by Kolkata police to investigate the case, PTI reported, citing a senior officer.

The woman, who was reportedly the TMCP’s women’s wing secretary in the college, had gone to the college to fill out forms for an upcoming examination. In her complaint, she stated that the accused, Mishra, asked her to stay back for some discussions. Mishra allegedly proposed marriage to the student, which she declined, saying that she had a boyfriend. However, the accused then tried to force himself on her.

A medical examination confirmed the allegations of gang-rape made by the woman. According to the report, doctors found evidence of “forceful penetration, bite marks, and nail scratches” on her body. The survivor said in her complaint that the main accused ignored her requests to let her go.

“I touched his feet, but he did not let me go, but he did not listen,” she said in her statement. “He asked the other two to take me inside the guard’s room and make the guard sit outside. They did so.”

According to the CCTV footage from the scene, the security was loitering outside, but did not attempt to help the victim, inform the college authorities or report the crime.

The incident has caused massive outrage across West Bengal. The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has claimed that the key accused, Mishra, was a key office-bearer of the student wing of the ruling party, Trinamool Congress (TMC). However, the party said he never held any important position and that “justice will be served” in the case.