At the South Calcutta Law college, a night before this year’s Saraswati Puja, Monojit Mishra, the main accused in the gang-rape of a student inside the college allegedly got drunk with other male students.
“That evening some of us had stayed back at the college to complete the decoration for the pandal. Despite the presence of us girls, the male students got drunk. Their behaviour too had changed. The security staff in the college did nothing to stop them or ask them to leave,” said a female student of the college.
On the evening of June 25, Mishra, a former Trinamool Chhatra Parishad leader at the college and a temporary staffer, along with two of his associates, had allegedly gang-raped a student inside the college premises. The Kolkata Police’s detective department has taken over the investigation in which four, including the three main accused have been arrested.
Mishra had several complaints filed against him, but was all too powerful for the cops to take action.
“The red flags were there, but no one acted,” the law student said.
Across campuses in Kolkata, female students complain about authorities not acting or even taking action against the complainant in some cases.
Some of the female students in the colleges in and around Kolkata tend to stick around with each other.
“It feels a little safer to be around my women classmates. We have been told to inform the union in case of any complaints. Everyone knows who the unions listen to,” said a student of Baruipur College.
A student at the Surendranath College said in her first year she was asked questions about her personal life.
“The seniors, mostly the dadas, asked if I liked another senior dada. Everything was said in a lighter vein, but I felt uncomfortable. Boundary lines were definitely crossed, but it wasn’t serious enough to warrant a complaint with the anti-ragging cell. I have never seen anyone approach the cell,” said a student in the Bengali department.
A female student at the prestigious St. Xavier’s University said they often had to face probing questions and catcalls on their dresses.
A Calcutta University student complained that small acts of harassment are often ignored in the campus.
“There are people who hang around the campus. They will make a comment or pass a look. They know very well, even if someone complains, they will get away with it,” she said. “Gender sensitivity remains mostly on paper.”
A Jadavpur University student narrated how a classmate of hers was threatened by a senior over a disagreement. “She could not complain to anyone because the senior enjoyed political clout. In such an environment it is difficult for any girl student to say that she feels safe inside or outside the campus. We could be punished by the seniors for such disagreements and who knows what the nature of the punishment will be,” she said.