BJP MP Sambit Patra on Saturday launched a scathing attack on the West Bengal government over the alleged gang-rape of a 24-year-old student inside South Calcutta Law College, claiming that the crime had political backing and accusing the Trinamool Congress (TMC) of shielding the accused.
Addressing a press conference, Patra questioned the “insensitivity and cruelty towards women” under a state led by a female Chief Minister. “If we read the victim’s statement carefully, it becomes clear that this entire vicious cycle of gang-rape is state-sponsored,” Patra alleged.
The BJP leader also pointed to the political connections of the main accused, Monojit Mishra, who has served as secretary of the TMC’s student wing. “This is a brutal act with a political angle. Mishra is not just any individual; he’s been seen with senior TMC leaders, including Abhishek Banerjee and Minister Chandrima Bhattacharya,” Patra said.
Criticising TMC MP Kalyan Banerjee’s controversial remark—where he reportedly said, “if a classmate rapes his friend, what can we do about it”—Patra said such statements trivialise horrific crimes and expose the ruling party’s indifference.
Further intensifying his party’s stand, Patra announced that BJP President JP Nadda had constituted a fact-finding committee comprising senior leaders such as former Union Ministers Satpal Singh, Meenakshi Lekhi, and MPs Biplab Deb and Manan Mishra. The committee will visit the college and submit a report to the party leadership.
“We are not asking for a clarification. We are demanding an apology and the resignation of Mamata Banerjee,” said Patra.
Meanwhile, Kolkata Police have arrested a fourth person in connection with the case—55-year-old Pinaki Banerjee, the security guard of the college. Earlier, police had arrested Monojit Mishra (31), Zaib Ahmed (19), and Pramit Mukhopadhyay (20), all of whom are either former students or staff of the same college.
According to police, the accused will be produced before the Alipore court in South 24 Parganas with a plea for police custody to facilitate further investigation. The incident has sparked outrage and renewed scrutiny of women’s safety in educational institutions in West Bengal.