Monojit Mishra, the main accused in the alleged gang-rape of the 24-year-old student of South Calcutta Law College on June 25, has been chargesheeted in several earlier cases, including for harassing women, assault, damaging property, and theft, police said.

“Monojit Mishra is a history-sheeter with several cases and chargesheets against him in the Kolkata Police jurisdiction,” said a senior officer.

Mishra, 31, a practising lawyer and former Trinamool Congress Chhatra Parishad leader, was arrested in 2017 for violence and assault in the Kalighat area, police sources said.

Mishra graduated from the law college four years ago and had been working there as a casual employee since last year.

According to police records, Mishra had at least one case against him for tearing a woman’s clothes inside South Calcutta Law College in July 2019. A chargesheet was filed in the case.

The same year, Mishra was accused of stealing a gold chain, a music system, perfume, and a pair of spectacles from a friend’s apartment in Haridevpur on New Year’s Eve. The case was recorded in the first week of January 2020, and the police later filed a chargesheet.

A chargesheet was filed against him for allegedly molesting a woman in Kasba in March 2022, sources said.

In May last year, the law college authorities lodged a formal complaint against him for assaulting a security guard, Sanjib Kumar Sil, and damaging property at the college.

Many at the law college alleged that Mishra had also threatened students who took part in the “Reclaim the Night” movement last year, after the rape and murder of a postgraduate trainee at RG Kar Medical College and Hospital.

The police said Mishra has multiple cases registered against him at Kalighat, Kasba, Alipore, Haridevpur, and Tollygunge police stations.

Mishra was allegedly appointed as a casual staff member at the college on the recommendation of Trinamool MLA Ashok Kumar Deb, vice-principal Nayna Chatterji said on Friday.

Deb, the MLA from Budge Budge and president of the governing body at South Calcutta Law College, denied recommending Mishra’s appointment.

“I am a politician, so people approach me. I did not recommend anyone for appointment. The college needed staff, applications were submitted, and someone got the job. It’s not a full-time post, just day-to-day work for keeping accounts. The job can be discontinued any time,” Deb told reporters on Saturday evening.

On Friday, vice-principal Chatterji said Mishra was appointed following the governing body’s recommendation.

Reacting to photographs showing him with Mishra, Deb said, “Being photographed with a politician doesn’t mean the politician is close to someone.”

Mishra’s Facebook account is filled with photos of him with Trinamool leaders.