CBI Probe Into Student Rape Sought

Plea in Calcutta HC says the main accused is influential and has close links with ruling TMC

- KAUSHIK PRADHAN @Kolkata

A PIL filed before the Calcutta High Court on Monday sought a CBI probe into the alleged gang rape of a law student by an alumnus and two classmates in South Calcutta Law College in Kasba, South Kolkata.

The petition, filed before the division bench of Justice Soumen Sen and Justice Smita Das De, sought a direction to the CBI to submit its interim report before the court.

The petition claimed that the main accused, Manojit Mishra, has close links with the ruling party in West Bengal and is influential, and sought the case be transferred to the CBI from the Kolkata Police for an impartial probe. It also requested that the state be directed to provide compensation to the survivor.

The bench allowed three advocates to file separate PILs over the alleged gang rape.

Advocate Sauma Subhra Ray held that the incident was not a "spontaneous crime of opportunity" but a "premeditated and politically motivated" plan.