The accused, arrested in connection with the alleged gang-rape of a first-year student of a law college in south Kolkata, being produced at a city court, in Kolkata, Friday, June 27, 2025. PTI Photo)
The accused have been identified as alumnus and ad-hoc staff member Manojit Mishra (31), first-year student Pramit Mukherjee (20), and second-year student Zaib Ahmed (19), reports The Times of India.
The officer added that there were visible marks of assault around her neck.
Police said the primary accused, now a practicing criminal lawyer, allegedly raped the woman while the other two stood guard outside the room.
“According to a Supreme Court judgment, all persons involved in a gang rape can be held equally responsible, even if not all committed the act,” Chief Public Prosecutor Sourin Ghosal said. “The two others helped in the act and are therefore also accused.”
The woman had gone to the college to fill out a form for a test when the assault took place. She was allegedly kept inside the student union room.
In her complaint, she said that the main accused proposed marriage, which she refused, saying she was already in a relationship. The assault reportedly lasted from 7:30 PM to 10:50 PM.
“I touched his feet but he did not let me go. They took me to the guards’ room forcefully, undressed me and raped me,” her complaint said, as quoted by ToI.
At one point, the woman said she struggled to breathe and asked to be taken to a hospital, but her request was ignored. She then asked for an inhaler, which the accused reportedly fetched from a nearby medical store.
The student also claimed that the two others recorded the assault on their mobile phones and threatened to release the footage on social media if she reported the incident.
She was released after suffering a panic attack and called her father, who took her home. The woman filed a complaint the next day. They have been booked under BNS sections dealing with gang rape, wrongful confinement, common intention.
She further alleged that the main accused had previously used his influence to appoint her as the secretary of a women’s organisation at the college.
Police have seized the accused’s phones and are conducting a forensic investigation. The three were remanded to custody till July 1. Calcutta University has sought a report and plans to form a fact-finding committee.
The incident has drawn parallels to a similar case last year involving the rape and murder of a medical intern inside a Kolkata hospital, which sparked massive public outrage across the nation.
(The victim’s identity has not been revealed to protect her privacy as per Supreme court directives on cases related to sexual assault)
-With PTI inputs
