Don’t Allow Girls Outside Colleges In Night: Mamata Banerjee

Kolkata: West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee made a shocking statement on Sunday as she advised colleges not to allow girls to go out at night following the alleged gang rape of a medical student in Durgapur. Mamata Banerjee said, “I was shocked to see the incident, but private medical colleges should also be careful about their students, especially girls. Girls should not be allowed to go out (to college) at night. They need to protect themselves too. There is a forest area. Police are searching for all the people.”

A second-year student of a private medical college was allegedly gang-raped in Durgapur. The survivor is from Jaleswar, Odisha. Mamata Banerjee condemned the incident and assured that strict action would be taken against the perpetrators. “No one will be excused. Whoever is guilty will be punished severely. Three people have already been arrested. We will take strict measures… This is condemnable when it happens in other states,” he said. The West Bengal CM questioned the silence regarding these crimes by drawing parallels with crimes in other states. “Three weeks ago, three girls were raped on the Odisha coast. What precautions are being taken by the Odisha government? Such incidents took place in Manipur, UP, Bihar and Odisha; we think the government should take stringent measures there,” he said.

Meanwhile, three accused have been arrested in the gang rape case of a medical student in West Bengal’s Durgapur. They were presented to the courthouse today. Speaking to reporters, Asansol Durgapur Police Commissioner DCP Abhishek Gupta said, “Three people have been arrested so far. They have been produced in Court today. Further investigation is on and everything is going as per protocol. The entire investigation is ongoing…”According to the medical student’s father, he went out with his classmates to buy something to eat. However, two or three more men came and raped her. The classmate later said “she abandoned him and ran away.” “At 10 pm, her friend called us and said that your daughter was raped. We live in Jaleshwar. My daughter was studying here. Yesterday, one of her classmates took her out on the pretext of buying food, but when two or three more men came, she abandoned her and ran away. They raped her… This incident took place between 8:00 pm and 9:00 pm. The hostel was far away. She was away and had come here to eat. Security arrangements are not enough… Such a serious incident.” An incident occurred but no precautions were taken. There is no system here, no answers…” the student’s father told reporters.