Eerie Silence, Despair After Delayed Justice In RG Kar Case | Kolkata Law College Gangrape

While the deep scars left by the grisly rape and murder of a doctor at the RG Kar Medical College and Hospital in Kolkata are yet to start fading, the City of Joy is once again making headlines over another harrowing gangrape.

The incident occurred at the premises of another venerable institution, the South Calcutta Law College. The victim is a twenty-four-year-old student, and the alleged perpetrator is a contractual staffer at the college, as well as a functionary of the ruling Trinamool Congress (TMC) party’s student wing. Thirty-one-year-old Monojit Misra, a.k.a. ‘Mango’, was taken into custody by police with three others—nineteen-year-old Zaib Ahmed, twenty-year-old Pramit Mukherjee. A security guard, Pinaki Banerjee, has also been taken into custody.

Seven days since the incident first came to light, all that could be seen at the law college on Wednesday was eerie silence surrounding an empty, barricaded college building. There was a heavy police presence on the campus, though, and people dismissed gestures and appeals to comment on the crime.

A tea-seller, whose cart is located right outside the college premises, refused to speak, saying only: “I don’t know what happens inside [the college]—I cannot answer any questions.”

There was noticeable hesitation among locals to engage with an incident that is not only horrifying but also deeply politicised.

Perhaps it wasn’t just silence—what is palpable is a subtle sense of despair. A despair due to unanswered questions piling up and lingering on the incomplete investigation in the RG Kar case.

The victim’s bereaved parents are pounding on the doors of justice, alleging a larger conspiracy behind the criminal act against their child. Kolkata rose in unprecedented public outcry, with people holding months-long protest marches, candlelight vigils and days-long hunger strikes demanding justice for the deceased woman who was killed while on duty at her hospital.

The cloak of disappointment hovering over the law college was lifted for a moment by an anonymous autorickshaw driver’s thoughts. Speaking to 카지노, Rajesh* said, “What would I say? I have two daughters—we are always worried [about their safety].”

He went on, “These days, it’s better not to speak much about these issues. When justice has not been served in the RG Kar case after thousands protested, what good would come of it here?”

A Kolkata Traffic Police kiosk adjacent to the South Calcutta Law College had an officer on duty who said he was present at the post until 9:30 PM on June 25, the day of the attack. On condition of anonymity, he said, “I did not notice any issue among the students. Even though what happens inside the institution premises is under the jurisdiction of the Kasba Police Station, if anyone had alerted me, I could have done my best to rescue the victim; it might not have gone this far.”

When quizzed about reports claiming that the prime accused, Monojit Misra, was “rowdy” inside and outside the college and had harassed other female students, the officer said he had never heard of him before.

At the Kasba Police Station, where the FIR was registered, the duty officer said that under Section 18 of Police Regulations, Calcutta, he was prohibited from speaking about the incident.

He said, “The investigation by the SIT [Special Investigative Team] of Kolkata Police has been transferred to the Detective Department, which prohibits us from divulging any information regarding the matter.”

Case So Far

After the initial remand period, all four accused were produced before the Alipore Court on July 2, which extended their police custody, allowing further interrogation by the investigators.

According to reports, during the hearing on Wednesday, Monojit Mishra’s counsel claimed that his client had “consensual sex” with the victim and that he was being “framed” for a crime of which there was “no video evidence”, contrary to claims.

The chief police prosecutor, Sourin Ghoshal, told the court that the medico-legal test results corroborated the allegations of the victim on the first day of production of the suspects before a judge. He said on the second day that the circumstantial and electronic evidence gathered by police also corroborated her complaint.

The defence lawyers urged the court to prevent a trial by media before the charges can be proven, and requested that the accused not be “victimised”.

The court extended the police remand of all prime accused till July 8, except the arrested security guard, Pinaki Bandyopadhyay, who is in custody until July 4.

(*name changed on request)