| Kolkata – A second-year medical college student from Odisha was allegedly gang-raped outside a private medical college in West Bangal’s Paschim Bardhaman district on Friday night, police confirmed on Saturday. The incident occurred outside a private medical college campus in Durgapur on Friday (October 10) night when the girl went out with one of her friends for a meal. A case has been registered against several people in connection with the incident, though no arrests have been made so far. The police reported that the student, a resident of Jaleswar in Odisha, had left the college premises with a classmate to eat outside. “It is alleged that miscreants started harassing them at that time. They also chased their friend, who ran away in fear. Finding the girl alone, the miscreants dragged her to a nearby forest where the crime was committed,” a senior officer of the Asansol-Durgapur Police Commissioner stated. “We spoke to the victim’s friend last night. We are trying to find out some CCTV footage. A forensic team will visit the spot to collect evidence,” the officer said. After the gang rape, the student’s mobile phone was also allegedly taken away by the accused. The student is currently admitted to a hospital. The family members said that they do not want to keep her in this state for education. The college authorities have already filed a complaint with the police. Although officers of the New Township Police Station in Durgapur have begun an investigation, the identities of the accused are yet to be known. According to family sources, the student had left the college premises at around 8.30 p.m. on Friday for dinner. At that time, several youths blocked the path of the student. After that, she was allegedly taken to a forest behind the private medical college campus and allegedly gang-raped. Talking to reporters, the parents of the student said they reached Durgapur this morning after getting a call from their daughter’s friends. “My daughter is not safe here. I will not let her continue her education here anymore. I will take her home,” her parents told the media. “We got a call from her friends, and heard of the incident. We came here this morning and lodged a complain with the police. I have heard that the college performed well academically, and this is why we send our daughter to study medicine here”, the student’s father said. A team of the National Commission for Women (NCW) is heading towards Durgapur to meet the victim and her parents. Crime against women is on the rise in Bengal. The police are not taking any proactive steps in such cases. This is quite unfortunate. I will request the chief minister to come forward and work in tandem to arrest the rise of such crimes,” NCW member Archana Majumdar said. On August 9 last year, the body of a postgraduate trainee was found in the seminar hall of RG Kar Medical College and Hospital. The incident sent shockwaves across the country, sparking widespread and sustained protests by doctors, ordinary citizens, and women from households alike. While the sole convict, Sanjoy Roy, has already been sentenced to life imprisonment by a trial court, the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has still not completed its probe into the “larger conspiracy” behind the crime, even after a year. |
Bengal Horror – Odisha student gang-raped outside Medical College
