Out for dinner with friend, medico gang-raped in West Bengal

A medical student from Odisha was allegedly gang-raped by a group of men in West Bengal's Pashchim Bardhaman district. The police said the crime occurred outside a private medical college campus in Durgapur on Friday night when the girl accompanied her male friend out for dinner.

The girl's family, from Jaleswar in Odisha, alleged that the incident occurred around 10 pm on Friday.

The police confirmed that the victim's friend abandoned her after the attackers accosted the couple, snatched the girl's phone and dragged her to the nearby woods where they committed the crime.

"She was threatened with dire consequences if she reported the crime," a police officer said, adding that the accused also took cash from the girl.

The victim is undergoing treatment and her statement has been recorded.

A team of the National Commission for Women (NCW) has already left for Durgapur to conduct its own investigation.

NCW member Archana Majumdar said crime against women was on the rise in Bengal. "The police are not taking any proactive steps in atrocities against women. This is very unfortunate. I will request the Chief Minister to stem this rot," she said.

The BJP attacked CM Mamata Banerjee-led TMC government in the state and said Bengal was not safe for women.

Comparing the crime with the horrific rape and murder of a woman doctor at RG Kar Medical College and Hospital in Kolkata, in August 2024, BJP co in-charge for Bengal Amit Malviya said, "A second-year medical student was gang-raped in a forest area by Wasif Ali and his associates. The victim, a resident of Odisha, is currently undergoing treatment, and her statement has been recorded. The brutal crime has triggered massive protests across Durgapur, with people demanding swift justice and accountability from the government. West Bengal is not safe for women."

The development comes close on the heels of West Bengal Governor CV Ananda Bose meeting President Droupadi Murmu and submitting to her a report on the deteriorating law and order situation in the state.

Bose said in Bengal, the law and order was being strangled by the very persons tasked with enforcing the law.

The visit of the Governor followed an attack on a BJP MP and MLA in North Bengal's Nagrakata where they had gone for flood relief work.

Bose had, however, evaded queries about President's Rule in Bengal and said the Constitution had ample provisions to deal with the situations as prevalent in Bengal.