A city court on Monday extended the police custody of the three accused in the alleged gang-rape of a first-year student at a law college in Kolkata's Kasba area by eight days till July 8.
The accused include the prime suspect Monojit Mishra, a former student and temporary staffer of the college, and two current students – Zaib Ahmed and Pramit Mukherjee.
The trio was arrested on Thursday and produced before the court the following day, which initially remanded them to four-day police custody.
Upon production at the Alipore Court on Monday, their police custody was extended till July 8.
A security guard of the college, Pinaki Banerjee, was also arrested on Saturday in connection with the case and was sent to police custody till Tuesday. His custody was extended till July 4.
On completion of the initial remand period, all four were produced before the Alipore Court, which extended their police custody, allowing further interrogation by the investigators.
According to sources, the defence lawyers of the three – Mishra, Ahmed, and Mukherjee – did not move bail pleas and instead told the court that the accused were fully cooperating with the investigation and were willing to help bring out the truth.
They also urged the court to ensure that no media trial takes place before the charges are proven, requesting that the accused not be "victimised" in the process.
The defence counsel prayed that they be allowed to accompany the accused to the crime scene and also remain present during their interrogation by police.
The defence counsel said while the phones of the accused were confiscated, it was not known if the phone of the complainant was also being examined by the investigators.
The extension of police custody was granted following a prayer by the public prosecutor and the investigating officer, who sought more time to question the accused.
The public prosecutor said during argument that the victim woman was given inhaler before being raped by the accused so that they could physically torture her after she was in full consciousness. This was, however, denied by the defence counsel who maintained that the accused bought her an inhaler for humanitarian reason as she was having breathing discomfort.
The defence counsel of the arrested security guard, meanwhile, pleaded for bail, arguing that his client had no prior criminal record and had not left his place of duty on the day of the crime.
He also submitted that the guard had a meagre income and was not involved in the act of rape in any way.
The court, however, rejected the plea and extended his police custody as well.
Earlier, the magistrate had to adjourn the hearing for some time as hundreds of lawyers not associated with the case entered the courtroom.
Two groups of lawyers were engaged in a heated exchange of words - one demanding strict punishment for the accused and the other seeking a fair investigation and opposing the entry of outsiders.
