Kolkata: Investigators probing the alleged gangrape of a female student at South Calcutta Law College have revealed that the assault was premeditated and the accused had been targeting the victim since her first day at the institution.

According to a senior police official associated with the case, three of the four individuals arrested, Monojit Mishra, Pratim Mukherjee and Zaid Ahmed, had orchestrated the attack days in advance and had a prior history of sexually harassing other female students at the college. All three are either current or former students of the law college located in the city's Kasba area. The fourth accused, police confirmed, is employed as a security guard at the same institution.

Investigators from the nine-member Special Investigation Team (SIT) have uncovered a disturbing pattern of behaviour, with the trio allegedly recording incidents of harassment on their mobile phones. These recordings were then used to blackmail the victims, police said.

“The entire matter was premeditated. The trio had been plotting for several days to carry out this torture on the victim. We have found that the victim was targeted by the prime accused from the very first day she got admission to the college,” the officer said.

Kolkata Police have launched a search for mobile footage reportedly filmed by the accused. Over the weekend, officers conducted searches at the homes of Mukherjee and Ahmed in a bid to retrieve videos that may be linked not only to the June 25 incident but potentially to other episodes of abuse as well.

“We are looking for footage related to this and possibly other incidents,” the officer added.

Authorities also suspect that a video clip of the alleged gangrape might have been circulated by the perpetrators. “We are trying to find out whether those clips were forwarded or shared with some other groups. In that case, we have to get in touch with those who have received that,” the officer said.

As part of the investigation, the SIT has compiled a list of over 25 individuals who were present on the college campus during the evening of 25 June. Most of those identified are students of the college and will be questioned to determine what they may have witnessed.

“All these people will be questioned in connection with the investigation. We have to find out what they witnessed that evening,” the officer added.

The alleged gangrape was reported to have been committed by Mishra, Mukherjee and Ahmed,two of whom are current students and one an alumnus, within the college premises. PTI