Rape probe: SIT to focus on 17 witnesses, 42 footage frames | Kolkata News – Times of India

Kolkata: The special investigation team (SIT) probing the south Kolkata campus rape will question 17 students present on the law college premises on June 25 around the time when prime accused Monojit Mishra and his accomplices — Zaib Ahmed and Pramit Mukherjee — committed the gang rape of a 24-year-old student. SIT will also scan 42 CCTV footage pieces which have provided “conclusive evidence of the crime being committed” and the involvement of the accused, said sources.“Altogether, 17 students were present in the college that evening. Eight of them stayed back. This includes the survivor and the accused. Statements of the remaining four are crucial. We have already spoken to two such students,” said a police source. “CCTV footage and medical report corroborate the survivor’s statement. Video from Monojit’s mobile has also matched her version,” pointed out an investigator.The probe has established that Zaib had purchased an inhaler for the survivor from a pharmacy near the college at 8.29pm, establishing the timeline of the crime. A bill generated against his name was recovered by cops, along with CCTV footage. Evidence suggests that the rape took place between 8.30pm and 10.50pm, said cops. Arrested college guard Pinaki Banerjee has claimed that Monojit had asked him to look for Pramit sometime around 8.20pm, and that Monojit looked anxious.\Commissioner of police Manoj Kumar Verma visited the college on Monday evening. This is the second time he has been to the crime spot since the rape came to light. Sources said he was closely following the investigation and was likely to be present during the questioning of the accused.Police said that the reconstruction of the crime would not be limited only to the college. Call data records and tower locations have been collected and matched with CCTV footage. Amid allegations that Monojit had asked his accomplices to watch over the survivor’s movements, footage from other areas will also be collected, said an officer. Medico-legal tests of the accused have already been conducted and DNA samples have been sent for forensic examinations. Police moved court to get the confidential statement of both parents recorded before the magistrate.Even as accused Monojit claims that the incident was “consensual”, an SIT member stated that cops had enough evidence to prove otherwise. “It was a violent crime. He thought the girl would not complain, fearing that he would leak the videos recorded by his aides. Contrary to claims, we have not found anything regarding the destruction of evidence by the accused. We have all the footage,” claimed a police source.Joint CP (crime & traffic) Rupesh Kumar said police would pursue a custodial trial of the accused. “We hope to submit the charge sheet quickly. We want the trial while they are in custody,” he said.Even before the rape, Monojit carried as many as 11 FIRs against his name, said cops. The latest of these was in April when he allegedly assaulted a civic volunteer. Among the other cases against him was the molestation of a student in July 2019, theft at a friend’s residence during a New Year’s party the same year, molesting another woman at Kasba in 2022, and beating up a guard and damaging college property in 2024.