- Monojit Mishra had 11 cases against him, mostly for harassing women, and was out on bail
- He assaulted the security guard last year, causing eardrum damage, but no action was taken then
- Owner of the security firm alleged that 'Mango' locked the guard and took his phone on the day of the incident
Monojit Mishra, the prime accused in the Kolkata law college rape case, had at least 11 cases registered against him, many of them relating to harassing and misbehaving with women. He was out on bail in these cases. Monojit, alias 'Mango', even physically assaulted the security guard, who is also arrested in the case, last year, which resulted in damage to the guard's eardrum.
Monojit, who had links with the ruling Trinamool Congress in West Bengal, has been arrested. The owner of the security firm, Vinayak Das, spoke to NDTV and said, "Last year, when Pinaki refused to let Monojit enter the college in the evening, he jumped the gate and entered the college and beat the security guard, whose eardrum burst. At that time, the security guard also complained to the police and the college administration, but no action was taken. After this, he beat up the college librarian badly."
"The guards used to say that Mango Dada looks after all the work in the college, and everyone is afraid of him. On the day of the incident, the accused snatched my security guard's mobile and locked him in the union room and also beat him up. Then, after about 40 minutes, the union room was opened, and Pinaki's mobile was returned to him," Mr Das alleged.
Mr Das said he asked Pinaki why he did not tell anyone about the incident. The guard said, "I was scared. If I had told, Mango Dada would have beaten me up, and nothing would have happened to him." Pinaki's mistake is that he did not tell anyone about the incident, he added.
The owner of the security firm said Pinaki's record is clean, adding that the company does a background check on every guard and there is no case registered against him.
Monojit has told police that he believed that the threat to circulate the sex assault video would stop the 24-year-old survivor from approaching cops.
The crime took place on the evening of June 25. The survivor has said in her complaint that she asked her father to pick her up after the horrifying crime. Shortly after, Monojit and co-accused Pramit Mukhopadhyay and Zaib Ahmed left the campus. According to top sources in Kolkata Police, Monojit had asked some friends to keep an eye on the Kasba Police Station -- about a kilometre from the college -- to see if the survivor registers a complaint.
The next day, Monojit called up a college staff member and asked if the police had visited the campus. When he realised the cops were after him, he called up his lawyer friends and college seniors and asked for help, but no one intervened, sources have said.
On the evening of June 26, Monojit and Zaib met at Fern Road near Ballygunge Railway Station, about 1.5 km from the college campus. Police tracked them down and arrested them later that evening. Pramit was arrested at his home that night.
