The authorities of South Calcutta Law College terminated the services on the prime accused and expelled two other co-accused in the alleged gang-rape of a 24-year-old student from the institute, an official said on Tuesday (July 1, 2025).
The appointment of prime accused Monojit Mishra, who was serving as a casual employee of the college on a previous recommendation of its governing body, was cancelled in the wake of his arrest in connection with the crime.
Mishra, along with co-accused Zaib Ahmed and Pramit Mukherjee, both students of the college, were arrested and remanded in police custody.
Following a meeting of the college’s governing body chaired by Trinamool Congress MLA Ashok Kumar Deb, the authorities announced the termination of Mishra’s services and the expulsion of the two students.
“It has been decided to terminate the services of Mishra, while the two other students will be expelled with immediate effect. The college will maintain no connection with the accused. The security agency, assigned with the security of the college premises, will also be showcaused,” Mr. Deb told reporters.
A security guard was also arrested in connection with the crime.
Governing body meeting
The institution’s governing body met for the first time on Tuesday afternoon since the victim, a first year student, was allegedly assaulted and raped within the college college premises on June 25 beyond class hours.
The college authorities have also decided to apply for the cancellation of the bar council membership of Mishra who is a practising criminal lawyer at the Alipore Police and Sessions Court, as stated in his social media profiles.
“We will leave no stone unturned to bring back a healthy academic atmosphere in the college as early as possible,” Deb said.
Campus closed
He confirmed that the campus will continue to remain closed for the time being, although there will be no disruption in the forthcoming exam schedule of students.
“The administrative office of the college will remain open and students can come to fill up their exam forms,” the governing body chairman said.
The governing body also extended financial assistance to the victim for meeting the expenses of her medical treatment should she and her family agree to accept it.
“We will tighten CCTV coverage inside the college and will replace the existing security agency with a new one,” Haripada Banik, a teaching representative at the governing body, said.
“We have also decided to deploy female security guards at the campus,” he added.
Public outrage
The actions from the college administration came amid growing public outrage over the alleged incident and have led to strong demands for accountability and reform in campus safety protocols.
According to the vice-principal of the college, Nayna Chatterji, Mishra was appointed on a contractual basis for a renewable term of 45 days based on an earlier resolution passed by the governing body.
“We have not only expelled the accused, but want the highest punishment for the perpetrators,” Chatterji said on Tuesday.
College records indicate that Mishra was previously a student of the institute and was admitted in 2013. That year, he was rusticated from the institution after being charged with stabbing a youth on Chetla Bridge under the jurisdiction of Kalighat police station.
Mishra vanished from police radar at that time before resurfacing in 2017 when he took readmission to the college from where he passed out in 2022.
He was also involved with the Trinamool Congress Chhatra Parishad (TMCP), and according to former students, he held considerable influence within the college.
“In December 2016, he was accused of leading a mob of outsiders to vandalise the college premises. FIRs and counter-FIRs were lodged at the Kasba police station in connection with the incident, but for some unknown reason, the cases got dropped,” Titas Manna, a former student, told a local news channel.
PTI has in its possession copies of at least seven formal complaints and FIRs, besides the latest one on the gang rape, against Mishra.
These FIRs showed that the ex-student has pending cases of several sexual assaults registered against him across multiple police stations in south Kolkata.
Published – July 01, 2025 04:53 pm IST