9 hours ago
‘Virtually ran the college': TMC student wing member accused in rape case had free run of institute even after graduating
Monojit Misra, the main accused in the rape of a student at a Kolkata law college, is a member of the ruling TMC's student wing and a former president of its college unit who wielded immense clout in the campus even after completing his graduation.
Misra, 31, was among three people arrested in the case. The two other arrested persons, Zaib Ahmed (19) and Pramit Mukherjee (20), are also members of the college's Trinamool Chhatra Parishad (TMCP) unit and Misra's associates.
The Indian Express spoke to current and former students as well as local TMC members who alleged a string of offences on campus by Misra, his outsized influence there, and his flaunted closeness to local party leaders.
Students pointed to the fact that the college's governing body — its president is TMC MLA Ashok Deb — appointed Misra as a 'casual' clerical staffer after he had passed out.
'Misra was the TMCP unit president in the college before he passed out. Earlier, he was accused of ransacking CCTVs put up by the authorities in the old campus of the college. Even in the new campus, he was accused of abducting a student of a rival TMCP faction,' alleged a former student.
'He was suspended twice for all this. But after he passed out, he was appointed as a casual clerical staff by the governing body of the college,' said this person, who is also a TMCP member.
The person said: 'Misra formed a gang of students in the college. He called it Team MM. The two other accused persons are members of this group.'
Indeed, a graffiti on one of the college walls reads: 'Monojit da is in our hearts (Team MM)'. The text 'arma sobai TMCP samarthak (We are all TMCP supporters )' appears above it.
Misra's most recent role in the TMCP was as one of the secretaries of its South Kolkata unit.
Trinankur Bhattacharya, the Trinamool Congress Chhatra Parishad president, said: 'He was once with Trinamool Chhatra Parishad. But now he is not. Whoever he may be, be it a party leader or not, he should be given exemplary punishment if found guilty. We condemn such incidents.'
Another student and TMCP member said:. 'He virtually ran the college and his diktats were to be followed by the students. From Saraswati Puja to symposiums to party programmes, he was at the helm of everything in the college.'
Misra is a resident of the Kalighat area. A Kalighat TMC leader said: 'We don't know how the party gave him space in the law college. He always tried to be close to local TMC councillors and MLAs.'
Misra's Facebook timeline appears to bear this out, with multiple photographs showing him with TMC leaders. There are also several photographs and posts related to the college.
His bio describes him as a lawyer with the Alipur police and sessions court and an organisational secretary of the South Kolkata TMCP.
Debanjan Dey, the state secretary of CPI(M) student wing SFI, said: 'Monojit Misra is a known criminal from Kalighat. Many cases are pending against him. Even after that, he was given a job in this college. Why did not take action against him?'
Leader of Opposition and BJP leader Suvendu Adhikari posted on X: 'This incident is not just a crime, it is a blatant proof of the corruption of educational institutions by the leaders of the Trinamool Congress student wing. The Trinamool student leaders are repeatedly abusing their power to create an atmosphere of fear and anarchy in educational institutions.'
TMC spokesperson Kunal Ghosh, meanwhile, posted on X: 'Police to see that maximum punishment should be given. However we must be careful. Such boys sometimes come close to our party and then they will do their will and do shameful acts. The leaders with whom this boy has worked locally should be careful.'
