"He Is A Rapist": Trinamool Disowns Student Leader Accused In Kolkata Horror

After the 'gang-rape' of a law student in Kolkata triggered a political firestorm, the Trinamool Congress has admitted that the main accused is linked to the party's student wing but insisted that this would not come in the way of him getting the strictest possible punishment. 

The law student was allegedly raped at the South Calcutta Law College in Kolkata's Kasba area on Wednesday by Monojit Mishra - a 31-year-old former student of the college, who is now a practising lawyer - and two students, identified as 19-year-old Zaib Ahmed and 20-year-old Pramit Mukhopadhyay. All three have been arrested.

Monojit Mishra is a member of the Trinamool Congress' student wing and the BJP has shared photographs of him with senior members of the ruling party, including MP, National General Secretary and Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee's nephew, Abhishek Banerjee, and Health Minister Chandrima Bhattacharya. 

Holding a press conference on Friday evening, Bengal Minister Shashi Panja said in Bengali, "The West Bengal Assembly had passed the Aparajita Bill (on death penalty for rape convicts) and it has still not been made a law. Why? Because the BJP has blocked it. We don't want to do politics. If you are serious, support the bill. A woman's body is not a battleground for your politics. It has to be respected."

"You have to understand the pain of the victim and respect her. We have to ensure she gets justice... There are some parties that have called rapists 'sanskaari' (cultured) and garlanded them. We don't do that. This is a serious incident and we are very pained by it. The Kolkata Police has taken action and there will be a proper investigation. The people behind the crime will be punished," she added. 

'No Active Unit'

The head of the Trinamool Chhatra Parishad (student wing), Trinakur Bhattacharya, said the incident is painful beyond words and the accused should get the strictest possible punishment.

"I have been hearing a lot of questions and I wonder why fingers are being pointed at the Trinamool student wing. Their intention is not to get justice for the survivor but to find a way to point fingers at Mamata Banerjee and Abhishek Banerjee and defame the party. We have never said he (Manojit Mishra) was not linked to the Trinamool Congress student wing, but he was a junior member. The Trinamool Congress student wing does not have an active unit in the college," he said. 

"He held a position in 2019. How were we expected to know what he would do in 2025? Were we supposed to be fortune tellers? Can you even predict what your friends will do in the future? He was not part of any committees in 2022 or 2023. He is not part of any committees now... But which party he belongs to is not important. He is a rapist, he should face justice," Mr Bhattacharya said, adding that the photo of Mishra with Abhishek Banerjee is from 2017 and the people of Bengal were being "misled".

Mr Bhattacharya emphasised that the student wing of the Trinamool Congress will stand by the survivor.

Senior Trinamool Congress leader Kunal Ghosh echoed these views and added that the "animals" who committed the crime should be thrashed. "Their party affiliation, name, post, religion and everything else is irrelevant. Such people should be skinned," he said.