Barely had the shock of last year’s gruesome incident at R.G. Kar Medical College, where a medical student was raped and murdered, receded from public memory when yet another horrific crime has shaken Kolkata. This time, a law student was gang-raped inside the guard room of Calcutta Law College, allegedly by two students. The main accused has a criminal record with multiple prior charges and once led the Trinamool Chhatra Parishad unit at the same college where he studied. When the victim declined the marriage proposal of the main accused, she was subjected to this unspeakable act for what he saw as her audacity. His predatory and violent behaviour points unmistakably to a pattern—a man with a history of preying on women. What may perhaps have emboldened him was the belief that his association with a political party would help him go scot-free. Nothing underscores the egregiousness of the incident more than the fact that women are now being targeted in public spaces traditionally considered ‘safe’—educational institutions, hospitals, and even their own homes.

The Calcutta Law College incident has once again torpedoed the city’s image and raised urgent questions about campus safety and institutional accountability. The college........

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