Formerly identified as a promising student leader and self-proclaimed “neta” of South Calcutta Law College, Monojit Mishra now finds himself at the center of a brutal gang-rape case which shook the city. Monojit is arrested for sexually assaulting a first-year law student on June 25 within the college campus, Mishra’s own black and un-checked past of violence, intimidation, and political shield came full circle to haunt him, and subsequently his old college.
He is nicknamed as “Monojit dada” or “Mango” by friends and students on campus. During his college days Mishra’s influence lay far beyond student politics. Though officially graduating in 2022, he remained influential, supported by his history of being part of the Trinamool Chhatra Parishad, a student organization of West Bengal’s ruling party TMC. Though the Trinamool Congress distanced itself from him now, declaring he must have to answer to the law, students and academics assert his influence on campus was never challenged for years.
Monojit Mishra: Aspiring Lawyer to Accused Rapist
Monojit was enrolled in the law college in 2007 with ambitions to be a lawyer, but his path soon shifted sharply towards campus politics. Following the Trinamool’s ascension in 2011, his influence eventually increased. He had to quit midway through his course, but agian re-joined in 2017 and cleared in 2022, a time in which he informally commanded the student wing of the college, even though the party had officially disbanded the unit after a bout of vandalism in 2017.
“He had no official position, but everybody knew who ran the campus,” said a student who wants to be anoymous. “Even teachers didn’t want to fight with him.”
Monojit Mishra’s hunger for power
However, Monojit returned to the college as casual clerical staff in 2023, on a daily wage of Rs 500. Students think he did it not for money but in order to have access to the campus and the power it gave him.”.
Monojit’s name and image among students was not very noble. Some female students have accused him of body-shaming, harassment.His famous pickup line “Tui amay biye korbi?” (Will you marry me?) has been used on many women, including the survivor in the present case, as per the reports.
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Monojit Mishra: A Predator in Power
A female student, in 2019, complained that he had ripped her dress off within the college. During the same year, Monojit was arrested for theft from a friend. After 3 years, in 2022, he was accused of molestation in another matter. Later in 2024, he allegedly assaulted a college guard and damaged property. In most of these allegations, Mishra got the bail.
A year ago, after the rape and killing of a female doctor in the RG Kar Medical College in Kolkata, Monojit had openly advocated capital punishment for rapists on Facebook-a note that many calls it as his hypocrisy.
What is the latest incident that put Monojit Mishra under scrutiny?
The survivor has told investigators that she was summoned to the union room of the college at about 7 pm by Monojit along with two others, named Pramit Mukherjee and Zaib Ahmed. Even though college regulations demand the gates be closed by 5 pm, the three men, with the purported help of a security guard, did not leave the campus.
On arrival, Monojit requested the survivor to “demonstrate her loyalty” to the student wing of Trinamool. When she attempted to escape feeling something was amiss, she was dragged inside another room and raped. The survivor was also threatened and filmed by the accused during the assault and threatened to remain silent.
Monojit Mishra’s case raise concern in Indian campuses
The attack has also raised eyebrows regarding campus security. How were the students permitted to stay on campus after hours? Were there any steps, if at all, taken against Monojit’s previous offenses?
Monojit’s father, Robin Mishra who is a Kalighat priest had publicly rejected his son’s actions and said “I wanted to give him a good life,” he told the press, “but I kept myself away from him due to his political activities and conduct.
Meanwhile, for the neighbours Monojit is “Papai” a troublemaker who often got involved in drunken fights. Some claim his girlfriend, who is also a lawyer, would visit him regularly, but many say that he mostly kept to himself in the last few years.
Kolkata Police have informed that Monojit refutes the charge of rape and called it as being consensual. But considering his long list of previous complaints and cases, the authorities will most likely ask for a lengthy custody and file a detailed dossier of his earlier misdeeds in court.
