Such was the terror of Monojit ‘Mango’ Mishra on campus that women students of the Kolkata law college, where a 24-year-old was raped last week, considered skipping classes to stay out of his way. Speaking to NDTV on the condition of anonymity, a former student of the college said all students “feared” Mishra, an alumnus who had graduated but returned as a contractual employee.
“There was an atmosphere of intimidation on the campus. He used to click photos of female students, morph them and circulate them on WhatsApp groups. He also sexually harassed them. There was so much intimidation that students were scared to attend classes,” she said.
“There have been several complaints about him throughout Kolkata. In 2019, he sexually harassed a woman in college, tore off her clothes. In 2024, he beat up a security guard and vandalised college property. He was also involved in some kind of theft. There have been several FIRs filed against him, but nobody took any action because of his political influence. He was so politically safeguarded by the Trinamool Congress that nobody dared to touch him,” she said.
“I don’t think there is any girl (in college) who wasn’t harassed by him (Monojit). There were many complaints. Even his parents disowned him,” she said. Monojit’s father is a priest in the Kalighat temple and his mother suffers from neurological issues.
The Trinamool has now distanced itself from Monojit, but students say he claimed proximity to the party’s top leaders and everyone on campus, including teachers, feared him. The Opposition has alleged that it is with the ruling party’s backing that anti-social elements like Monojit commit crimes and get away with them.
Monojit, the prime accused in the rape case, and co-accused Pramit Mukhopadhyay and Zaib Ahmed have been arrested after the survivor, a 24-year-old law student alleged that he raped her on campus on June 25 and the other two recorded videos of the heinous act to blackmail her later.
