Kolkata law student gang rape: What will it take for women to be safe in West Bengal

West Bengal woke up once again to the horror of a brutal rape, a chilling reminder of how little has changed. As outrage spreads and statements pour in, another Special Investigation Team is formed, but justice remains as distant as ever.

A college student in Kolkata was allegedly gang-raped by two seniors and a former student, now a staff member, on the evening of June 25. All the three FIR-named accused persons were arrested in less than 12 hours. A security guard of the college was also arrested based on evidences. The case triggered a political row after it came just months after the brutal rape and murder of a medical student in R G Kar Medical College and Hospital.

Monojit Mishra was the last person one would suspect could rape a woman. When the RG Kar incident happened, he had sought death penalty to the accused and positioned himself as a vocal advocate for women’s safety. Affectionately called as Mango, he was a student leader affiliated with the ruling Trinamool Congress and influential in campus. According to reports, Monojit offered the survivor, who suffered a panic attack, an inhaler before raping her.

It is estimated that 88 rapes take place every day in India, even then justice remains elusive. The Supreme Court had observed that 90% of rape cases end in acquittal. According to NCRB data, the conviction rate is as low as 27.8%. This means that only 28 accused of total 100 gets convicted in a rape case. Highlighting the growing danger, crimes against women in metropolitan cities surged from 40,839 in 2017 to 48,755 in 2022 — a stark reminder that urban spaces are becoming increasingly unsafe for women despite claims of progress.

The National Crime Records Bureau is often cited to denote Kolkata as India’s safest city for women. However, the reality could not be further from the truth. Data from National Family Health Survey (NFHS) consistently shows West Bengal’s rate of such crimes to be near the national average, which suggests that NCRB records may be underreporting crimes against women. Even then, NCRB data of 2022 highlight that the highest number of missing women and girls from the country are from West Bengal. 

West Bengal stands on the edge as protests erupt across Kolkata in the wake of the brutal gang-rape of a law student. The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has demanded the resignation of Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee and taken to the streets. Addressing a press conference, BJP MP Sambit Patra claimed that the entire "vicious cycle of gang-rape is state-sponsored." CPI(M) leader Brinda Karat said that rapists and criminals enjoy impunity under the rule of the TMC government. As anger simmers and another survivor’s story is added to an ever-growing list, one question echoes louder than ever: Will anything actually change?