Kolkata law student’s gangrape premeditated, accused had history of targeting women: Police

Kolkata: Three of the four men arrested in connection with the alleged gangrape of a female law student in Kolkata had pre-planned the assault and had been targeting her for some time, police said on Monday.

An ongoing probe by a nine-member Special Investigation Team (SIT) has revealed that the three primary accused --Monojit Mishra, Pratim Mukherjee, and Zaid Ahmed -- have a history of sexually harassing female students at South Calcutta Law College, where the survivor studies. The fourth accused is the college’s security guard.

Police suspect the accused filmed their acts and used the footage to blackmail victims. “The assault was not spontaneous. It was a premeditated act, planned over several days. The main accused had been targeting the victim from the very first day of her admission to the college,” a senior police officer told PTI.

The SIT is currently searching for mobile phone videos allegedly recorded by the trio, which may include footage from the June 25 incident. Raids were conducted at the homes of Mukherjee and Ahmed on Sunday.

“We are also investigating whether any of the video clips were shared or forwarded to others. If so, we’ll need to trace those who received them,” the officer added.

Investigators have compiled a list of over 25 individuals, mostly students who were present on campus on the evening of the incident. They will be questioned as potential witnesses.

The alleged gangrape took place on June 25 at the college premises in Kasba, Kolkata. The survivor has accused two current students, one alumnus, and a security guard of assaulting her.