"Government has a significant role": RG Kar victim's father on alleged gangrape of Kolkata student

The father of the RG Kar Medical College rape-murder victim has vehemently spoken out against the alleged gangrape of a law student inside South Calcutta Law College in Kolkata's Kasba area, expressing profound anger and disappointment over the recurring nature of such heinous crimes against women under the All India Trinamool Congress (TMC) government in West Bengal. His emotional statement highlights a deep-seated frustration that despite widespread protests and outrage following his own daughter's tragic case last year, the safety of students on educational campuses in the city remains compromised.

"Such incidents are happening again and again. After what happened with my daughter, many people came out on the streets in protest. Even after that, such incidents continue to occur," he told ANI, directly implicating governmental accountability. "People inside the college are committing such incidents. The government has a significant role in this, which is why all these incidents are happening. All three people arrested are from the TMC, so this political party should ensure that such incidents do not happen again. The accused should be severely punished." His comments underscore a prevailing sentiment that political affiliations of accused individuals might be contributing to a perceived lack of deterrence against such crimes.

The latest incident involved a first-year law student who was allegedly gang-raped inside the South Calcutta Law College premises on Wednesday evening. The victim's complaint details being lured into a guard's room by three men—Monojit Mishra (31), a former student and practicing criminal lawyer, and two current students, Zaib Ahmed (19) and Pramit Mukhopadhyay (20)—where she was sexually assaulted while being filmed and threatened. All three accused have been arrested and remanded to police custody, with their mobile phones seized for forensic analysis.

The South Calcutta Law College incident, much like the RG Kar case, has ignited a fresh political firestorm in West Bengal. Opposition parties, particularly the BJP, have accused the ruling TMC of sheltering criminals and failing to ensure campus safety, with Leader of Opposition Suvendu Adhikari calling for state-wide protests. While the TMC has condemned the incident and emphasized swift police action, they have also accused the BJP of politicizing the victim's pain and hindering legislation like the Aparajita Bill aimed at strengthening rape laws. The recurring nature of such grave incidents on college campuses continues to be a point of serious concern for public safety in Kolkata.