Kolkata law college rape case: All 4 accused remanded to judicial custody till Aug 5

Alipore (Kolkata) [India], July 23 (ANI): All four accused in Kolkata law college rape case - Manojit Mishra, Zaib Ahmed, Pramit Mukhopadhyay and campus security guard Pinaki Banerjee have been remanded to judicial custody till August 5 by the Alipore ACJM court.
All of them produced in court on Tuesday. Meanwhile, Manojit Mishra's lawyer, Raju Ganguly raised concerns about his client's treatment in custody, alleging that Mishra is being denied basic necessities like proper food and water. Ganguly also claims that Mishra is being pressured to confess to the crime.
Ganguly stated that Mishra is not being provided with adequate food and water while in custody, which is affecting his health and well-being.
The lawyer alleged that Mishra is being coerced into admitting to the crime, which could potentially compromise his defense. Ganguly pleaded with the court to arrange for a mosquito net, books, and paper for Mishra, citing his fundamental rights as a prisoner.
"He is being forced to admit his crime in front of the magistrate. We have put 38 applications. We have mentioned the name of two lawyers that when Manojit is interrogated in Court that day, our two advocates will be present. This application is allowed. Under Article 21 we have said that he requires basic facilities in jail, like a blanket and, mosquito net. This application has also been allowed. He has been sent to judicial custody till August 5. The third application is that when he is brought to lock up, we do not get enough time to talk to him. We have requested that the jailer give us two to three hours to talk to him, and that has been allowed," he added.
Raju Ganguly said, "Today we represented Manojit Mishra. We submitted 3 applications before the court, which did not include a bail application. We have repeatedly stated that we will continue to assist the prosecution... During interrogation in jail, pressure is being put on him to admit that he committed this crime."
However, Kolkata Police Chief Prosecutor Sourin Ghoshal contradicted Ganguly's statement, saying that the defense did file a bail petition. Ghoshal added that the defense's applications included a request to allow them to interview their client in jail and to visit the crime scene in police presence.
Sourin Ghoshal said, "Those people filed 3 petitions on behalf of the accused. By filing the first petition, they said that you should tell the jailer that lawyers will come and conduct an interview, so arrangements should be made for this. We said that this power rests with the jailer West Bengal Correctional Homes Act. The second petition was they demanded some facilities for the accused, and we said that this would also be facilitated by the jailer. They had given a bail petition, but he has been sent to judicial custody. We will try to give the chargesheet soon."
All four accused arrested in the case of the alleged gang rape of a law student at the law college in Kolkata's Kasba area on June 25.
Earlier on July 10, the West Bengal government submitted a sealed progress report on the alleged rape of a 24-year-old Law student to the Calcutta High Court.The state also produced the case diary before a division bench comprising Justice Soumen Sen and Justice Smita Das De, which reviewed the victim's statement under Section 183 of the Bharatiya Nyay Samhita (BNS) and the medical records.
The court directed that a copy of the progress report be handed to the victim's advocate, strictly barring its disclosure without prior court permission.
The victim's family, through counsel, expressed satisfaction with the investigation led by Kolkata Police's SIT. The police also filed a report explaining why local officers allegedly failed to act on earlier threats against the victim.
The incident took place on June 25, when a student was allegedly gangraped inside the South Calcutta Law College in the Kasba area of Kolkata. (ANI)