"We Are In Trauma": Father Of Kolkata Rape Survivor Speaks To NDTV

A pall of gloom descended upon him, the man told NDTV as his 24-year-old daughter telephoned him to say that she had been raped at her college in Kolkata and then requested that he come and take her home.

The woman of the South Calcutta Law College was allegedly raped by two senior students and an alumnus of the institute on June 25. 

"I fought back... I cried and asked him to let me go... I even touched his feet, but he didn't let me go..." the woman had told the cops, narrating the horrific assault. "He tried to force me with the intention of having sex. I kept pushing him back. I asked him to let me go. 'I can't do this, I have a boyfriend and I love him'," she had said. 

The crime took place for over three hours at multiple locations inside the campus, including the guard's room, the survivor said in her complaint to the police. 

"Main toh upset ho gaya aur soch liya ki police ke paas hazir ho jaunga (I got upset and decided that I will go to the police)," the survivor's father, in a telephonic interview, told NDTV when he learnt about the incident. 

The three prime accused -- alumnus and contractual staff Monojit Mishra, current students Pramit Mukherjee and Zaib Ahmed -- and security guard Pinaki Banerjee have been arrested in the case. 

It is alleged that Manojit raped the student, while the other two shot videos to blackmail her later. The security guard was accused of failing to carry out his responsibilities.

According to sources in the Kolkata Police, the meeting records are being examined to determine whether the college authorities had acknowledged previous complaints of high-handedness, hooliganism, or sexual harassment -- allegedly committed by Monojit Mishra, one of the prime accused in the case.

When asked about police's reaction when he went to them, the man said he has faith in the police. 

"Main aur meri family trauma main hain (My family and I are in trauma)," the man said, adding, "aur bolne ki himmat nahi hai (Don't have the heart to speak more)."

Asked if his daughter ever mentioned being harassed by Monojit Mishra, the man flatly said "no".  

Mishra, who once held a position in the student union of West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee-led Trinamool Congress, has multiple police complaints against him, including ripping off the dress of a woman student in July 2019 and assaulting a woman in Swinhoe Lane in March 2022. 

Nudged to answer how the daughter is now, he said, "Woh trauma main hai (She is in a trauma)."

The man has sought the strictest punishment for the culprits of the heinous crime. 

The Kolkata college is set to reopen on July 7.