RG Kar, law college, Sandeshkhali: Bengal’s chilling nexus of crime and politics
The two sexual assaults in Kolkata had a chilling similarity—they were just waiting to happen, as both institutions had been turned into virtual crime dens
A disturbing pattern has emerged in West Bengal’s recent spate of headline-grabbing crimes—from rape and murder at RG Kar Medical College and Hospital last year to the recent gang rape at South Kolkata Law College.
The two sexual assaults in the heart of Kolkata had a chilling similarity—they were just waiting to happen, as both the institutions had been turned into virtual crime dens due to apparent political patronage and protection provided to offenders close to the ruling party.
Recruitment procedures flouted
Past crimes of the prime accused in the law college assault, Manojit Mishra, now in custody, were continued to be overlooked, in a re-run of similar long rope given to the RG Kar case accused, Sanjay Roy.
Mishra, a former Trinamool Chhatra Parishad officer bearer, was recruited in the college as a temporary non-teaching staff member despite his criminal background.
Also read: Kolkata college gangrape: Police reconstruct crime scene with accused
He was recruited allegedly at the direction of the TMC legislator Ashok Kumar Deb, who is the president of the college’s governing body.
Even recruitment procedures were flouted to appoint him, college sources said, claiming that many members of the governing body and teachers were against the appointment.
No fear of reprisal
Patronage of the powers that be made Mishra so emboldened that he was confident of going scot-free this time as well, just as he had been roaming free despite multiple FIRs being filed against him since 2013.
Mishra reportedly told the investigators that he was quite sure that the video clip of the sexual assault that they had recorded would dissuade the survivor from reporting the crime.
He was such a source of dread that a former principal of the college, Debasish Chattopadhyay, had to approach the city’s joint commissioner of police to seek police protection to organise a college event that was to be attended by the then education minister of the state, Partha Chatterjee.
“Manojit Mishra, a student of this college, along with his associates, has created problems during other college programmes in the past and has threatened to disrupt the social programme on 13.12.2018,” the principal had informed the police.
Also read: Kolkata gang rape: Bar Council expels accused, police track actions before arrest
RG Kar rerun
The RG Kar rape and murder had brought to the fore the corruption and threat culture that thrived in the institution. Mishra and his gang were also involved in a similar threat culture at the law college. It took a gruesome rape to expose it.
“It has now become a pattern that the administration and police would turn a blind eye to the felonies committed by those linked to the ruling party until their crime explodes in the face,” said political commentator and writer Amol Sarkar.
This dangerous pattern was noticed in Sandeshkhali, where a TMC local leader Sheikh Shahjahan was running a reign of terror for years until women of the area voiced their collective outrage, forcing the government to act.
Teen’s death
These are not a few isolated incidents. The same underlying template was visible in the killing of a 13-year-old girl in Nadia’s Kaliganj. She was killed after bombs were hurled from a Trinamool Congress victory celebration on June 28.
The offenders had similar criminal backgrounds overlooked by the police all along.
Also read: Kolkata gang rape: Police trace accused’s call to vice-principal, find digital footprint
“The accused were land mafia and were involved in several criminal activities. We had drawn the attention of the police to their illegalities, but in vain,” said Debasish Acharya, a Nadia district leader of the CPI(M).
The unfortunate killing of the teenage girl could have been averted had the police acted on their previous complaints, he said.
“The likes of Mishra are not exceptions. There are many like him thriving under the TMC banner across the state. Only a few get exposed. If the survivor (in the law college assault) had not mustered courage to expose him (Mishra), he would have continued doing what he was doing,” alleged Congress leader Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury.
Assault on CPM veteran
That the culture of impunity continues unabated is evident from the police’s failure to arrest Baby Kole, a firebrand TMC member from Kharagpur in West Midnapore district.
Two FIRs were filed against her for allegedly assaulting a veteran CPI(M) leader of the area, Anil Das, last Monday (June 30). But she was not arrested till the filing of this report, prompting Das to move Calcutta High Court against police inaction.
His wife, Susmita Das, wrote to Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, who also holds the Home portfolio, seeking justice, on Friday (July 4).
Also read: Kolkata gangrape: South Calcutta law college expels three accused students
Das was allegedly assaulted as he protested against the demolition of the wall of a woman's toilet at the Kharida area of Kharagpur.
The TMC has done its bit so far by merely issuing a show-cause notice to Kole.
Attacks within party
Things have come to such a pass that a minister in the TMC government and Jamiat Ulema-e-Hind leader Siddiqullah Chowdhury had to issue a threat of quitting the party to nudge the police to plunge into action after a section of TMC functionaries heckled him and vandalised his car in Purba Bardhaman district on Thursday.
The minister alleged the attack was planned by local TMC leader Azizul Haque and his associates because he has protested against their unabated extortion and corruption.
He said police were mere bystanders when he was attacked.
It was only after his threat to quit that the police on Friday arrested five persons in connection with the attack, clearly in yet another damage-control exercise.
