Describing the harrowing incident, the woman said she had a panic attack during the assault and begged the men to stop but they did not listen to her. She was also beaten in the head with a hockey stick by one of the students.According to the complaint, the men had allegedly recorded the assault and threatened the victim that if she told anyone about it, the video will be made viral on Facebook.Main accused and a TMC connection31-year-old Manojit Mishra, the prime accused in the case, is a practising lawyer in the Alipore court and an alumnus of the South Calcutta Law College who had served as the president of the college’s students’ union.However, what has ignited a political storm is Mishra’s connection to the ruling Trinamool Congress (TMC). According to sources, Mishra is associated with TMCP, the students’ wing of TMC. On his Facebook profile, Mishra has claimed himself as the organisational secretary of TMCP’s South Kolkata District. His social media profiles have multiple pictures of him participating in various programs of the TMC. There are also pictures of him with the leaders of the ruling party.Denying Mishra’s association with the party, Kolkata mayor and Minister Firhad Hakim said those who associate with TMC’s ideology “can never do anything wrong.””The accused were never associated with the TMC. There is no connection in any way. I cannot say if they are supporters. But they have no connection with the TMC. Those who associate with Trinamool’s ideology can never do anything wrong,” he said.Although the TMCP has tried to distance itself from Mishra after the horrific incident, the students of South Calcutta Law College recognise him as a close associate of the ruling party.Even though college union elections have not been conducted for a few years, Mishra holds considerable influence in the college as the president of the former TMCP union, according to students.According to sources, Mishra was known to the students by the name ‘Mango’. Reflecting Mishra’s influence are the college walls, which have ‘Manojit Dada is in our hearts!’ written on them.Mishra was appointed as a temporary employee a few days ago with the permission of the college’s governing body president Ashok Kumar Deb, a senior TMC MLA.“He is a temporary staff member of the college. He is an alumnus of this college. He also has a law degree. The governing body appointed him,” said Nayna Chatterjee, Vice Principal of the college.Slamming the ruling TMC for repeated crimes in the states involving those associated with the party, BJP leader and Leader of Opposition in the West Bengal Legislative Assembly Suvendu Adhikari said, “The empire of crime was not established just like that. It has flourished and grown in the presence of various miscreants.”
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