5-Member SIT Team to Probe Kolkata Gang Rape, 1 More Held

The Kolkata Police on Saturday arrested a security guard of the government-run law college where a first-year student was allegedly raped by three men and also formed a five-member special investigation team (SIT) to probe the crime, officials aware of the matter said.

- Joydeep Thakur

KOLKATA:

A 24-year-old student of South Calcutta Law College was allegedly gang-raped on June 25 in the security guard's room in the ground floor of the college campus. The next day, 31-year-old Monojit Mishra, a former student of the college who is a non-teaching staffer at the institution, and two existing students—Zaib Ahmed (19) and Pramit Mukherjee (20)—were arrested on Thursday on the basis of the victim's complaint. The college guard, Pinaki Banerjee, was arrested on Saturday.

"The security guard was arrested this morning after we found that his replies were incoherent. His presence at the college has been captured in the CCTV installed in the college," a senior officer aware of the matter told news agency PTI. He added that the guard failed to carry out his duty, and police were trying to find out whether he was alone on duty.

Another officer quoted the victim's complaint as saying that "the security guard did little to help her, nor did he raise an alarm or inform the college authorities or dial 100 to inform the police."

"An SIT has been formed to probe into the alleged crime. It will start its investigation immediately," said the officer, adding that the team would be led by an assistant commissioner-officer rank.

On Saturday, the victim was taken to the Calcutta National Medical College and Hospital for a medico-legal test. Later, she went to Alipore court to record her statement before a magistrate under Section 183 of BNSS.

Meanwhile, police claim to have found an incriminating video clip in one of the three mobile phones seized from the accused.