CM Mamata Banerjee lied about the girl being out at 12.30 am: BJP on Durgapur gang-rape case

Kolkata: The BJP has accused West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee of lying about the timing when a second-year medical student left the private medical college premises in Durgapur, West Burdwan district, and later became a victim of gang-rape.

On Sunday, CM Mamata Banerjee, besides advising that girls should not go out at night, also quoted the time when the victim went out of the college premises at 12.30 a.m., which contradicted the exit timing recorded with the private medical college.

BJP Information Technology cell chief and the party’s central observer for West Bengal, Amit Malviya, made a social media post on Monday, accusing the Chief Minister of lying about the victim girl going out at 12.30 a.m.

The medical college authorities, quoting their records, claimed that the victim student stepped out of the college premises at 8 p.m. to have food, and thereafter was raped by three men in a nearby forested area.

“The girl student, a Dalit, was not gang raped inside the college campus. Hence, the responsibility of ensuring her safety rests with the police and state administration. The Chief Minister tried to put the blame on the medical college,” Malviya said in his statement.

He said that the nearby forest area, where the victim was reportedly gang-raped, lacked proper street-lighting and had long been known as a hub of criminal activity.

He accused the police of ignoring this fact, although the local people of Durgapur had long been aware of it.

“Therefore, the horrific gang rape of the second-year MBBS student represents a complete breakdown of law and order under Mamata Banerjee’s government,” Malviya said.

The BJP leader attacked the CM, saying, “It won’t be a surprise if she negotiates with the Muslim community leaders in the region to botch the investigation and let the accused boys free for their support in the upcoming election.

“For Mamata Banerjee, every woman’s life and dignity have a price and are secondary to her political interests. She even tried to buy the silence of the parents of the RG Kar Medical College and Hospital victim. She is abominable,” Malviya added.

According to officials, the student was allegedly gang-raped late Friday evening in a forested area behind the hospital after she stepped out of the campus with a male friend around 8 p.m. The survivor’s father alleged that her male companion fled during the assault.

The West Bengal Police have arrested three men — Sheikh Riaz Uddin (31), Sheikh Firdaush (23), and Appu Bouri (21) — all local residents in connection with the case. They have been remanded in police custody for 10 days, while two other accused are still absconding.

–IANS