West Bengal Police on Sunday arrested three people in the Durgapur gang rape case. The incident reportedly happened to the 23-year-old MBBS student outside a private medical college campus on Friday night when she had gone out for dinner with a friend.
The police took immediate action and arrested three accused, while the search for two others is still going on.
Victim’s mother’s allegations
In the police complaint, the mother of the victim (a second year MBBS student) has made serious allegations. She has said that her daughter was abandoned by her friend. After this, some unknown people dragged his daughter into the forest and threatened to kill her if she tried to scream. The miscreants reportedly also looted the student’s mobile phone and Rs 5,000 before fleeing.
Recalling the painful incident, the victim’s mother said that her daughter had gone out to eat at the request of her friend, when three men started following them. He said, ‘Her friend left her and ran away. My daughter also started running, but could not locate her friend. He further said that the three accused took advantage of his being alone and took him to the nearby forest, where two more people joined them.
The parents, who reached Durgapur late on Friday night after being informed by the victim’s classmates, have registered in their complaint the names of the classmate (friend) accompanying the student and some of her ‘companions’, although the identities of the companions have not been identified yet.
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The condition of the victim is stable.
The victim student, resident of Jaleshwar, Odisha, is still admitted in the hospital. Police said that his condition is stable and his mother is taking care of him.
Demand for high level investigation
A four-member team of the National Commission for Women (NCW) met the student in the hospital on Saturday. Commission member and gynecologist Archana Majumdar told about the condition of the student, ‘She is in shock. His condition is stable. He has suffered some injuries. This is very unfortunate and worrying. The NCW has also sought a detailed action taken report (ATR) from the West Bengal authorities within five days. The state health department has also sought a report from the private medical college regarding the incident.
student protest
Meanwhile, students of the private medical college protested on the campus on Saturday. The students also submitted a memorandum to the principal citing ‘inaction and silence’ of the college administration.
In the memorandum, the students said, ‘Despite the incident occurring near the college campus, no FIR was immediately lodged, no public statement was issued and no emergency security measures were taken. This negligence and inaction of the authorities is a betrayal of the trust of the students and a moral failure of the institution.
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political controversy begins
This case has also given rise to political controversy. Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MLA Subhendu Adhikari spoke to the victim’s father and promised help. Questioning the functioning of the police and the safety of women in the state, he targeted the silence of the state government and Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee.
Responding to these allegations, state Women and Child Development Minister Shashi Panja said in a video message that ‘such crimes against women should not be politicized.’ He accused the BJP of looking at such incidents through a political lens and said that the Chief Minister does not compromise on injustice against women.
The Chief Minister of Odisha has also condemned the incident and called on West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee to ensure strict legal action against the accused. He has also assured all possible assistance to the victim’s family.