The four accused in the Kolkata law student gang-rape case underwent gait tests inside a city correctional home on Wednesday (July 23, 2024) to help match their walking style with individuals seen in CCTV footage recovered from the college and its surrounding areas.

The police also faced questions from the court over why the prime accused, Monojit Mishra, had not been apprehended earlier despite multiple complaints of harassment against him.

The four accused – Monojit Mishra, students Zaib Ahmed and Pramit Mukherjee, and security guard Pinaki Banerjee – are currently in judicial custody. On Tuesday, the Alipore Additional Chief Judicial Magistrate extended their custody till August 5. The four have been in judicial custody since July 8, following their arrest on June 26.

The gait analysis was conducted at the Presidency Correctional Home in Kolkata. The examination, which studies how a person walks or stands, is expected to assist the police in corroborating CCTV footage and forming charges against the accused.

During the hearing, the court raised concerns over police inaction in light of 12 pending cases of molestation and rioting against Mishra that reportedly surfaced between 2023 and 2024. “What have you been doing since 2023?” the court asked, questioning the delay in taking action.

Mishra’s counsel informed the court that his client was being coerced into confessing during interrogation and lacked basic facilities inside the correctional home.

Chief Public Prosecutor Sourin Ghosal said, “The chargesheet will be filed at the earliest and the government will go for trial.”

According to female students at South Calcutta Law College, where the incident took place on June 25, Mishra had a history of misbehaviour and creating disturbances on campus.

“He had asked a female student to sit on his lap. He had also severely injured a guy’s head with a tube light,” one student told The Hindu on condition of anonymity.

Mishra, a former student of the college, was working there as a contractual staffer. Students alleged that he wielded considerable influence over the campus and had a say in the day-to-day functioning of the institution.