Kolkata: A second-year medical student from Odisha was allegedly gang-raped near a private medical college in Durgapur, West Bengal, on Friday night. Police said a case has been registered and an investigation is underway, but no arrests have been made so far.
Odisha Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi on Saturday expressed deep sorrow over the gangrape case in West Bengal. Condemning the incident, the Chief Minister termed it as a crime against humanity.
According to officials of the Asansol-Durgapur Police Commissionerate, the student, a native of Jaleswar in Odisha, had gone out for dinner with a classmate when a group of miscreants began harassing them. Her companion reportedly fled in fear, after which the accused dragged the young woman into a nearby forest and sexually assaulted her.
The college authorities have lodged a formal complaint with the police. The student’s family said she left the college around 8.30 p.m. and did not return. Her mobile phone was allegedly taken by the attackers. She is currently undergoing treatment at a local hospital.
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Visibly distressed, the victim’s parents said they no longer wish to keep her in West Bengal for studies. “My daughter is not safe here. I will take her home,” her father told reporters.
Police from the New Township station in Durgapur have launched a probe but are yet to identify the accused.
The incident has sparked outrage, with local BJP leaders staging protests and accusing the authorities of trying to suppress details, similar to what they alleged happened in the RG Kar Medical College rape and murder case last year.
National Commission for Women (NCW) member Archana Majumdar condemned the crime, saying rising incidents of sexual assault in West Bengal reflect delays in justice. “Despite repeated protests, the culprits are rarely punished on time. This delay encourages such crimes,” she said.
The RG Kar case, in which a postgraduate trainee was found dead on August 9 last year, had triggered massive protests nationwide. While one accused has been sentenced to life imprisonment, the CBI’s probe into the alleged larger conspiracy remains incomplete.
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