‘Mango a repeat offender; harassment, intimidation went unchecked for years’

Kolkata: In the aftermath of the alleged gang-rape of a first-year student at the law college in South Kolkata, several girl students have come forward accusing the key accused, Monojit Mishra alias ‘Mango’, of being a habitual offender. They claim that incidents of sexual harassment, intimidation and misconduct by Mishra were recurring and widely known on campus, yet remained unaddressed.

Several students recalled a disturbing pattern of behaviour, particularly during off-campus outings. A second-year student, Vaagmi Tripathi, recounted an incident from October 2023, during a college picnic in Budge Budge. “He had been drinking with a group of friends and sent word for me to join them in his room ‘to sing while they drank’. Seniors warned me not to go, so I didn’t,” she said.

Another first-year student wasn’t as lucky. According to Tripathi, the girl who entered Mishra’s room was allegedly groped and harassed. “He complimented her, said he liked her and then touched her inappropriately. She froze and left quickly after returning to our room. Later, on the train back, he kept pestering her for not talking to him,” Tripathi added.

While seniors reportedly encouraged the girl to file a police complaint, she, along with those same seniors, backed out after facing threats from Mishra. “He used to threaten people openly. Everyone was scared to cross him,” she said. Tripathi further described the power and influence Mishra allegedly wielded. “When we were returning from that picnic, he even sat on a senior girl’s lap inside an auto. When someone politely asked him to move to the front seat, he instead told my senior to sit on his lap. No senior present objected,” Tripathi noted. She added that he once offered her the post of girls’ secretary, which she declined.

Recurring student picnics reportedly became hotspots for misconduct. “Even last month, he took a group, including first-year girls, to a water park,” a student said. Another accused in the case, Pramit Mukherjee, has also come under fire from students, who allege he showed private photos of his girlfriends to his peers without their consent.

Another second-year student, who heard about the Budge Budge incident, said the atmosphere of fear Mishra created was palpable. “I used to skip college just to avoid him. He would summon girls to the union room for no reason. Many were dragged there by force. One of our batchmates was molested during that picnic.”

A third-year student echoed that the environment changed drastically after Mishra’s rise. “Before we had a female general secretary, and things were normal. Once he entered, the culture changed. Many of us distanced ourselves from union activities,” she said, adding that she once messaged Mishra for help and received a reply saying, ‘I love you.’