Manojit Misra, the prime accused in the Kolkata law college rape case, has at least five cases registered against him, including attempt to murder, sexual assault and extortion, a senior Kolkata Police officer said.

His trail of offences began in 2013, when barely a year into his studies at the same law college, he allegedly stabbed a fellow student in the chest, the officer said. Though the attack prompted an FIR (a copy of which is with The Indian Express), Misra remained untraceable for three years without ever facing arrest.

He resurfaced in 2017 on the college campus and was subsequently accused of vandalism. Despite an investigation by police, he continued to roam freely, it is learnt.

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Over the next few years, he was booked for allegedly wrongfully confining and extorting students, molestation, and even for “outraging modesty” but still no action was taken, the officer said.

A first-year student’s formal complaint of ragging, sexual harassment and threats in 2022 at the local police station similarly went unheeded.

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One of his college batchmates said he was a habitual offender. In 2018, a criminal offence case was filed at the Kalighat police station against him and he lost touch with everyone.

“From 2013 to 2015, he wasn’t seen around and then he was back and rejoined in 2017. He wanted to join the student union also but we all had initially objected since he had criminal charges against him. He had been booked for extortion, molestation, wrongful confinement even in the past,” he said.

Four years after graduating from the college, Misra maintained a foothold at his alma mater. He secured a position as temporary staff on the recommendation of the college general body, chaired by a Trinamool Congress MLA, and even posed as a recruiter for the party’s student wing.

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In May, he allegedly lured a female student, drugged and gang-raped her, filmed the assault, smashed her head with a hockey stick and threatened to have her boyfriend arrested if she spoke out.

This revelation further fuels allegations of political patronage shielding Misra.

Despite being ousted from the college’s Trinamool unit in 2021, sources indicate he maintained significant influence.

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“He used to spend a lot of time in the union’s office,” a college insider revealed, highlighting his continued presence and power on the campus.

The college authorities are also under scrutiny for allowing a person with multiple criminal charges to secure a job.

The vice principal of the college said Misra was appointed as a “temporary staffer on the recommendation of the college’s general body, which is headed by Trinamool MLA Ashok Deb.”

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The senior Kolkata Police officer denied that Misra was never arrested, stating he was “probably last time arrested in March or April this year” in a case filed at Kasba police station but subsequently got bail.

Police also noted that in cases of cognisable offenses, he had been arrested in the past, often amid group fights leading to counter-complaints.

Students of the college however claim consistent failure to secure convictions kept him reverting to crimes.

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A college insider alleged that Misra and his gang used to morph pictures of girls and circulate them among his friends, adding he had a tendency to record videos.

A police official also said they used to click photographs of women and post them in groups, body shaming them and maligning them.

“Even during the RG Kar case he, in a Facebook post, demanded capital punishment for the perpetrators and then threatened people against participating in ‘reclaim the night’ protest,” said a student of the college on condition of anonymity.

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The Bharatiya Janata Party has accused the state government and Kolkata Police of “nurturing a monster”, demanding to know why someone with such a record was never taken to task.

In a social media post, the party said, “In 2013, within a year of joining college (2012), Manojit stabbed a fellow student in the chest. He then vanished for three years. No arrest was made. No action was taken. In 2017 he reappeared at this Kolkata law college and was accused of vandalism. An FIR was filed. The police initiated a probe. But still no arrest was made. In 2022, a first-year girl student filed a complaint of sexual harassment, threats, extortion, and ragging at Kasba Police Station. Police looked away. Once again — no arrest. In 2025: Four years after passing out, he still roamed freely in the college. Posing as a recruiter for TMC’s student wing, he gang-raped a student, filmed the act, smashed a hockey stick on her head, and threatened to kill her boyfriend and arrest her parents if she spoke out. A rapist. A violent criminal. A political pawn. Manojit Misra is not just an individual failure — he is a symbol of how TMC and police together bred a beast under state protection. For 12 years, this man destroyed lives with impunity, aided by a system that looked the other way — or worse — walked alongside him.”