Chargesheet submitted in gang-rape of medical college student in West Bengal’s Durgapur

West Bengal Police on Thursday (October 31, 2025) filed a chargesheet in connection with the gang rape of a medical student by six people, including the survivor’s classmate.

Charges have been filed against the six accused under charges of rape, gang rape, extortion and dacoity, among other sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS). The charge filed by the Asansol Durgapur Police Commissionerate came 20 days after the gruesome crime.

The sexual assault victim is an MBBS student in a private medical college. At Durgapur in Paschim Bardhaman district. It was reported that the student left the university with a male friend on the night of October 10. It was claimed that she was gang raped by unidentified people in the forest area near the university campus.

Although the police initially arrested five accused, all locals, on October 14, the survivor’s 23-year-old classmate, a resident of Kaliachak in Bengal’s Malda district, was later arrested. Before the indictment was presented, a test identification parade was held at the correctional facility where the defendants were housed.

Special Public Prosecutor Bibhas Chatterjee told the media on Thursday, “The chargesheet was framed after a speedy investigation. This is the achievement of the Asansol-Durgapur Police Commissionerate. We hope that the hearing will be completed within two months and the trial process will begin.”

The sexual assault, which occurred less than a year after a doctor was raped and murdered at RG Kar Medical College and Hospital, has once again raised questions about the safety and security of women in West Bengal.

Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee’s remarks that women should not be allowed to go out at night had led to harsh criticism from her political opponents and the public in general.

Ms Banerjee had said on October 12: “Girls especially at night… They should not be allowed to go out. They need to protect themselves too…” She had also urged private medical colleges to take responsibility for their students as the police cannot keep watch on every house.