South Calcutta Law College Couldn’t Protect A Student From Being Gang-raped!

If law colleges aren’t safe, where are our daughters safe? Kolkata’s shocking law college rape case exposes a grim reality. The student went to the college for a normal academic commitment but ended up with the horrific memory that will haunt her for the rest of her life! 

“I touched his feet but he didn’t let me go. 2 accused watched as I was raped,” were the words of that girl. How traumatic it is to even think of saying this; she went through it! The fact that a brutal crime occurred inside a law college (a place supposed to create protectors of justice and influence law for good) shakes our ground of trust in this system. When even inside the gate of a law college, a young woman isn’t safe, how can we say that our society is safe to anybody?

This is the pressing question haunting Kolkata following a 24-year-old girl was allegedly gang raped in a room of a South Calcutta Law College on June 25, 2025. The act that happened at the time of the day between 7:30 pm and 10.50 pm is the triggering factor of the incident that both evoked fury and political firestorm, not to mention that the city is still recovering over a similar one in a medical college where a student was raped and killed.

South Calcutta Law College Rape Complaint and Surviors Statements 

The survivor had complained that she had attended the college so that she could submit her examination forms. What should have been a normal academic visit turned out to be a traumatic ordeal.The main accused, Manojit Mishra (31), a former student and current general secretary of the South Kolkata district of the Trinamool Congress Chhatra Parishad (TMCP), allegedly lured her to the union room under the pretext of discussing something important. After a talk that was nowhere related to an actual union discussion, the accused confessed his feelings to the girl about how since day one he has liked her, and proposed to her for marriage. When she declined his proposal, he together with two other students Zaib Ahmed (19) and Pramit Mukhopadhyay (20) are reported to have assaulted her.

According to the survivor, she was assaulted by a hockey stick, warned with a video record of an assault and left traumatized. Even the college security guard, who tried to intervene, was chased away by the accused. “The recorded videos of mine when the accused was raping me. They threatened to show the video  to everyone if I don't cooperate.”  she said in the statement. “I need justice,” she pleaded. 

Response of the Police

The three suspects were detained in 24 hours. They were arrested and their mobile phones confiscated and they were remanded to police custody. The survivor has undergone a preliminary medical examination, and witness statements have been recorded.

But the questions will not fade. How was it possible that in an institution that is supposed to educate and shelter the law, such a crime happened? Which systems are broken? And what sign does this give to thousands of young women who enter colleges daily under the impression that this is where they are going to be safe?

What is Political Blame Game and Accountability?

The case has promptly quickly escalated into a political flashpoint. BJP has leveled allegations against the ruling TMC of having created a culture of impunity on educational institutions wherein the main accused was very close to the ruling party and in fact was also employed at the college although he had a criminal record. The TMC, however, has condemned the incident and demanded instant justice, which points out on the necessity of stronger laws, such as the Aparajita Anti-Rape Bill, which will help prevent such incidents and conduct the trials in a much shorter time.

However, besides all the mudslinging on the political front, the central problem remains to be that because even the very law colleges cannot promise the assurance of safety, then what can other members of a society expect? 

Failure Pattern in Learning Institutions

This is not a single case. Only a few months back, there was the rape and murder of a junior doctor in R G Kar Medical College, Kolkata that fueled protests throughout the country. Reoccurrence of this type of crime in a learning environment, where one goes to be nurtured and empowered, shows that there is a rot at a deeper level. Are we really trying to keep our students safe in our schools or are lip services just offered when we do not want to address obvious lapses in security, accountability and support networks?

This can be contrasted with places such as NLSIU where it has an elaborate code of conduct, sexual harassment, and student security cells. Obviously, such measures are sorely needed in all colleges and particularly law colleges. 

Real Cost is Broken Trust

To all parents that take their girls to college, this is a cold enough wake-up call that even an esteemed campus and a guarantee to law and order are meaningless when in actual sense the environment is not safe. This means that not only students but also the parents must visit the campus, get internal information by asking from current students, meet the faculty and staff before joining the college, and only then decide whether to take admission there or not. The psychological damage to the survivor is impossible to measure and another dent is made on the faith that we all place in our educational and legal institutions.

Where Do We Go From Here?

• Colleges must prioritize student safety by implementing robust security protocols, grievance redressal systems, and awareness programs.
• Swift and transparent investigations must become the norm, not the exception.
• Political affiliations or influence should never shield the guilty from justice.
• Society must demand accountability, from institutions, from law enforcement, and from political leaders.

If law colleges can’t protect their own students, how can we expect them to protect the law of India? Until our educational institutions become truly safe spaces, the promise of justice will have only questions: If not here, then where? If not now, when? The fight for justice is still going, all we can do is try on individual levels to ensure a just environment.