Allegations of Admission Irregularities Surface in South Kolkata Law College

Questions raised over gangrape accused Zaib Ahmed’s entry; students, faculty allege sale of seats and corruption

A fresh controversy has emerged surrounding the admission of Zaib Ahmed, a law student from South Kolkata who was recently arrested in a gangrape case. Zaib’s admission has drawn scrutiny after a document from Calcutta University’s Common Entrance Test revealed that his rank was 2634—a score significantly below the usual cut-off range for admission into government law colleges under the university.

According to college faculty and students, the typical cut-off rank for general category students falls between 500 and 550. For reserved categories such as SC and ST, the range may go up to 700–750 in exceptional years. Given this, many are questioning how Zaib managed to secure admission, hinting at deeper issues of alleged corruption in the admission process.

On Monday, several students from the college publicly alleged that seats had been sold for exorbitant amounts. Zoya Shahid, a student, claimed, “Manojit admitted students at different times and charged lakhs of rupees. Some seats were sold for ₹50,000, others for up to ₹2 lakh.” Sources also indicated that in previous years, the illegal collection from seat sales reportedly touched ₹70–75 lakh.

Adding weight to these allegations, Navneeta Chakraborty, wife of the late principal Debashish Chatterjee, claimed her husband had attempted to block Manojit from entering the campus due to these corrupt practices. “Manojit made a lot of money by selling seats. Debashish had stopped him to put an end to it,” she said.

BJP IT Cell head Amit Malviya also highlighted the issue on social media, demanding clarity on how Zaib was admitted. Sources claim that even when the number of seats was increased, this was not officially disclosed, allowing extra seats to be sold illegally.

Similar allegations have been raised against another law college in central Kolkata, indicating a broader pattern. The case has triggered concerns about collusion between certain college officials and university administrators, prompting calls for a thorough investigation.