Batchmate Details 'Mango' Mishra's Campus Terror, Explains Crime Pattern

As more chilling details of Kolkata rape accused Monojit 'Mango' Mishra's terror on campus come to the fore, one of his batchmates has said his presence on campus affected the attendance of girls as they would skip classes just to stay out of his way.

Mishra is the prime accused in the June 25 rape of a 24-year-old law student on the campus of a law college in Kolkata. He was an alumnus of the college who had returned to the campus as a contractual staff. Two current students, Pramit Mukhopadhyay and Zaib Ahmed, have been arrested as co-accused and are accused of recording the sexual assault to blackmail the survivor later. A guard working at the college has been arrested for aiding the crime that occurred after college hours.

Speaking to NDTV, Titas Manna said he joined the Kolkata law college in 2012 and Mishra was his batchmate. "In 2014, when we were in our third semester, he stopped coming to college. We later heard he was lying low because he had attacked someone and an attempt to murder case had been registered against him," he said.

Mishra, he said, returned to college in 2017, but could not rejoin the students' union. "He was told that he can't be a part of the union because he has a criminal case against him. We told him that he can attend his classes and complete his course. But he wanted to do dadagiri, so he brought about 20 people from outside and went on the rampage on the campus, beat up students," Mr Manna said.

In 2017, he took readmission to the college as a first-year student. "He made life hell for students. Misbehaving with women, ragging, drunken brawls, molestation etc. So we called a meeting and it was decided that he can't enter the campus, except to take exams. Between 2018 and 2022, he was not directly involved in any campus activity. He would sit outside the college gate with his cronies, pick fights, and harass girls. In 2022, a case of harassment was registered against him. In another incident, he hit someone on the head," Mr Manna said.

Mishra later returned to campus after he got a contractual job; his appointment was cleared by the college's governing body, a move that has drawn criticism and prompted allegations of political patronage. By this time, senior batches had graduated and he filled the vacuum. "There has been no students' union in the college for years. He declared himself as self-styled president, and the current students started hanging out with him," Mr Manna said.

He said 'Monojit Mishra, called 'Mango' on campus, was a "rowdy" and this scared students. "He was ferocious. He can kill anyone on the road. It wouldn't matter to him."

Mr Manna confirmed reports that the attendance of girl students had dropped after Mishra returned to the campus. "Any woman will be scared. He would misbehave with everyone, be it a student, a teacher or a principal," he said.

Amid the outrage over the incident, many have accused the college administration and local police of not taking strong action against Mishra despite several cases against him. "It would be wrong to say no one was doing anything. Every time an incident happened, he was arrested, but he kept getting bail. That is a procedure," he said. In 2018, he said, the college authorities were so fed up with Mishra's activities that they wrote to the police and sought security on the campus. Questions, however, remain on why the college's administration cleared such a person for appointment on the campus.

Mr Manna said many girls did not complain against Mishra out of fear, but have now decided to come forward. "He followed a pattern. He would ask girls to meet him for some work. And then harass and molest them. He has always committed crimes in this pattern. After this incident, people are speaking out. I hope more such people who suffered due to him will come forward."