South Calcutta Law College, where student was gang-raped, reopens amid heavy security

Kolkata: South Calcutta Law College reopened on Monday amid heavy security after remaining closed for 11 days following the alleged gang rape of a first year student on campus.

Vice Principal Nayna Chatterjee said only BA LLB students of the first semester, who were yet to fill out their examination forms, have been asked to come on the first day after reopening to complete the formalities.

Senior officers of the Kolkata Police were overseeing security at the campus as private guards thoroughly checked the ID cards of students going in.

Around 100 students, many accompanied by their parents, turned up as the gates reopened at 10 am.

As per a notification issued by the college, no student will be allowed to stay on campus after 2 pm.

All teaching and non-teaching staff present on the campus would be able to leave the college premises only after the last student had left, it said.

The faculty members and non-teaching staff left the college as the gates were closed at the stipulated time.

A teacher said that earlier the college would be open till 4 pm on usual working days.

"From today, it will be open till 2 pm in view of the incident that happened on June 25. We have taken a conscious decision not to allow rogue elements like Monojit Mishra, the prime accused in the rape case, access to the campus. Entry of outsiders will be regulated," he said.

The decision to reopen the campus, in Kasba in the southern part of the city, was taken after the Kolkata Police gave its go-ahead, a college official said.

The students' union room and the security guard's room of the college have been sealed by the police for investigation and remain out of bounds for students and staff, he said.

Students have been asked to follow their usual class timetable from July 8, he added.

"We are hopeful about restoring normalcy on the campus at the earliest," said Haripada Banik, a governing body member of the institution.

Guardians, who accompanied their wards to the college, however, expressed their lingering apprehensions about the safety and security of their children.

Sasanka Dhara, father of a first-semester student, said he has decided to accompany his son to the college on every exam day till the situation normalises.

"We are scared about our children's safety," he said.

Another guardian, accompanying his daughter to the campus, said the assurances from the police and college authorities weren’t enough to allay his apprehensions.

"How can I trust my daughter's security on campus when the guards and the management are themselves under threat?" he said.

"I refuse to believe that the top TMCP leaders were unaware of the criminal activities taking place on the campus, including the gross misuse of the students' union room. These miscreants kept receiving the blessings and encouragement of their leaders, else they couldn't have acted with such impunity," he said.

A first-year student was allegedly raped by Mishra, an alumnus-cum-casual employee of the college, and two of her seniors, all affiliated to the TMC's students' wing, on the evening June 25 post class hours.

All three accused, along with a security guard of the college, were arrested.

The college was shut down on June 29 amid protests over the incident.