South Calcutta Law College’s governing body on Thursday decided not to renew the contracts of two casual staffers appointed alongside Monojit Mishra, the prime accused in the alleged campus gang-rape on June 25.

Amit Adhikari and Barun Banerjee were hired during a governing body meeting on July 2 last year — the same meeting in which Mishra was appointed. Mishra’s appointment was terminated on July 1 this year on a recommendation from the education department.

Governing body president Ashok Deb, Trinamool MLA from Budge Budge, said Adhikari and Banerjee were daily-wage staffers. “They were not permanent employees. The governing body has decided not to renew their contracts,” he said.

Each of the three had been hired at ₹500 per day with contracts renewable every 45 days.

“Our contracts expired on July 16. Since it hasn’t been renewed, we have not gone to college since July 17. My family depends on my income. I don’t know why the college decided this,” Adhikari, from Thakurpukur, told Metro.

Banerjee is from Budge Budge. Calls to his number went unanswered on Thursday.

Overstaffing concerns

A governing body member said the college already had 21 casual staffers before Mishra and the two others were hired last year. “Government rules allow 11 casual employees for a college with 700 students. We were already overstaffed. These excess hires were straining the finances of the college. At Thursday’s meeting, we pushed for immediate termination of Adhikari and Banerjee,” the member said.

An audit report presented at the meeting showed a budget deficit, partly due to casual staff costs. “We want 11 casual employees at the college, as per norms,” said another governing body member.

Earlier this week, an RTI application to the college’s public information officer sought details of non-teaching staff appointments and whether police verifications were done.

No police verification was done when Mishra, 31, a former Trinamool student leader with 11 criminal cases against him, was appointed. Vice-principal Nayna Chatterji had filed an FIR against him in May last year for assaulting a guard and damaging college property.

“The college will respond to the RTI. No further casual hires will be made,” said Sibranjan Chatterjee, a Calcutta University nominee to the governing body.

Security steps

A college official said the internal complaints committee (ICC) had been defunct. “It will be reconstituted — 80 per cent of members will be women and one will be external,” said Yashbanti Sreemany, another CU nominee to the governing body.

The governing body also decided to install more CCTV cameras on the campus. Kolkata Police had installed 12 CCTVs after the June 25 incident; these will be removed after the investigation. The college has three of its own.

The campus has one permanent security guard, Barun Mahali, who retires in January 2026. “Two ex-servicemen will be hired as private security guards,” said CU nominee Chatterjee.