Second-Year Medical Student From Odisha 'Gang-Raped' In Bengal's Durgapur

Durgapur: A second-year student of a private medical college in West Bengal's Durgapur has allegedly been gang-raped by five persons on Friday night, police said on Saturday.

The victim, who hails from Jaleshwar in the neighbouring Odisha, was out on a walk with fellow students on Mohun Bagan Avenue road adjacent to the Durgapur Government College when five boys, strangers to the victim, dragged her to a nearby forest to perpetrate on her, police added.

She was rescued from the spot by the companions who fled the spot at the time of her abduction and taken to a private hospital, the victim's family said, claiming that five people raped her.

Although the college authorities have not commented on the matter yet, the New Township police station has registered a case and launched an investigation into the incident. However, it is not yet known why she and her companions went to an area which remains deserted from dusk.

The police are trying to establish the identity of the five accused and whether her classmates who accompanied her to the area had any role in the matter. "Based on a complaint lodged by the family members of the medical student, we have started an investigation," a police official said.

Talking to reporters, the victim's parents said they reached Durgapur on Saturday morning after getting a call from the friends of their daughter. The mother alleged that her daughter was "gang-raped" around 10 pm on Friday when she went out of the college campus with one of her friends for dinner.

The private medical college where the victim studies. (ETV Bharat)

"We got a call from her friends, and heard of the incident. We came here this morning and complained to the police. I have heard that the college performed well academically, and this is why we sent our daughter to study medicine here," the student's father said.

This incident led to sensations in Durgapur, which has several private medical, nursing, as well as engineering and management colleges where students from other states enrol every year. Locals say this is the first such incident in Durgapur. The area adjacent to Mohun Bagan Avenue under the New Township police station area is surrounded by forests and is completely deserted at night.

While BJP leaders and supporters gheraoed the New Township police station, demanding an immediate arrest of the accused, CPI(M) leaders and activists suddenly entered the private medical college and entered into a scuffle with the security guards. CPI(M) leaders questioned how a student could come out of the private medical college hospital late at night.

Odisha Chief Minister Mohan Charan Maji has expressed deep anguish and strongly condemned the heinous act. He urged his Bengal counterpart, Mamata Banerjee, to ensure swift and exemplary action against the culprits.

"Hon’ble Chief Minister Shri @MohanMOdisha has expressed deep anguish and strongly condemned the heinous gang rape of an Odia student in Durgapur, West Bengal. The Odisha CM has urged Hon’ble Chief Minister of West Bengal, Smt. @MamataOfficial, to ensure swift and exemplary action against the culprits," the CMO shared on microblogging platform X.

He has directed senior officials to take all necessary steps in coordination with the West Bengal government and assured extending every possible assistance and support to the victim's family.

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