“If a Friend Rapes a Friend, What Can Be Done?” — TMC MP’s Remarks Sparks Outrage

GG News Bureau
Kolkata, 28th June: Senior Trinamool Congress MP Kalyan Banerjee has drawn sharp criticism from the BJP over his comments on the recent rape of a 24-year-old law student inside South Calcutta Law College. Banerjee’s remarks, made in response to questions by reporters, were slammed as “disgraceful” and “deflective” by the opposition for allegedly trivialising the crime and avoiding institutional accountability.

“What can be done if a friend rapes his friend? Will the police be in schools?” Banerjee said, referring to the horrific incident. “Women should fight against perverted men… but crime is not tied to any party or organisation,” he added, refusing to acknowledge the accused’s links to the Trinamool Congress’s student wing.

The remarks come amid a heated political row, with the BJP highlighting the accused Monojit Mishra’s past association with the Trinamool Chhatra Parishad (TMCP) and sharing photographs of him with senior TMC leaders, including Abhishek Banerjee and Health Minister Chandrima Bhattacharya.

The survivor, a first-year student, in her police complaint, said she was raped by Mishra, a 31-year-old former student and lawyer, while two others—Zaib Ahmed (19) and Pramit Mukhopadhyay (20)—stood guard. The incident took place in the guardroom next to the student union office on Wednesday night. The victim detailed that she was hit with a hockey stick, denied help during a panic attack, and threatened with death. Her medical report has confirmed signs of sexual assault and physical injury.

All three accused have been arrested and remanded to police custody. Their mobile phones are being examined for possible video recordings of the assault, as the survivor alleged she was filmed during the attack.

TMC has since attempted to manage the political fallout. Women and Child Development Minister Dr Shashi Panja stated: “We don’t want to politicise a woman’s pain. The police have taken swift action. The accused will face justice regardless of political links.” She accused the BJP of hypocrisy, alleging the party blocked the “Aparajita Bill”—a West Bengal Assembly proposal calling for the death penalty in rape cases—at the national level.

TMCP state president Trinankur Bhattacharya distanced the party from the accused, clarifying that Mishra held a student leader role only until 2019 and had no official connection with the TMCP after that. “He is not part of any current committees. He is a rapist and must be punished—his political affiliation is irrelevant,” he said.

BJP Leader of Opposition Suvendu Adhikari, however, accused the TMC of shielding criminals and called for statewide protests. “This is the second such incident after the RG Kar case, and it again exposes the political protection given to rapists in Bengal,” he said.

The case has reignited debates around campus safety, political interference, and women’s security in West Bengal. Investigations continue as public outrage builds over both the crime and the political responses to it.