Fifth suspect arrested in Bengal rape case, cops say not an easy probe

Kolkata: A fifth suspect was arrested on Monday in connection with the alleged gangrape of a 23-year-old medical student near her college campus in Durgapur, West Bengal, on the evening of October 10, police said.

The fifth suspect, identified as Sheikh Safiqul, was produced before the Durgapur court along with Sheikh Nasiruddin who was arrested late on Sunday, and both were remanded in police custody for 10 days.

The three other suspects, Apu Bauri (21), Firdous Shiekh (23), and Sheikh Riazuddin (32) were remanded in police custody by the court on Sunday.

All five, who live in local villages, were charged under sections 70 (1) (gang rape) and 3(5) (crime caused with common intention) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) in the remand petition, a copy of which was seen by HT.

“So far, we have found no evidence of any of the five suspects having criminal antecedent,” a police officer said, requesting anonymity.

“The student did not mention any name in her complaint. The arrests were made on the basis of phone call records and circumstantial evidence,” he added.

The survivor’s male classmate, with whom she had left the campus to have food at a dhaba on the evening of October 10, is still being questioned by the police.

The woman, a resident of Jaleshwar in Odisha, is admitted at the private IQ City Medical College Hospital where she is studying. Her medical tests were done at the same hospital.

Officers at the Asansol-Durgapur Police Commissionerate told HT that several contradictions have appeared in the statements made by the survivor, her friend, the medical records and the arrested suspects.

“In her initial statement to the doctor the student said there were three persons and only one of them committed the crime. We have that record as well as the medical reports. However, she later told the police that said five persons dragged her to the forest and gangraped her,” a senior police officer said, requesting anonymity.

The police complaint was lodged by the survivor’s father, who named his daughter’s friend as a suspect in addition to five anonymous persons.

The crime was allegedly committed after 8 pm and the survivor’s father claimed before the media that his daughter’s classmates called him up around 9.30 pm.

“The woman said the culprits called up her friend from her phone after the gangrape but kept the device saying it would be returned only if she paid ₹3,000. She alleged that they took ₹200 that she was carrying. The phone was seized from one of the suspects arrested on Sunday,” a second police officer said.

“When a woman is dragged through a jungle by five men and gangraped, there is always evidence. The college authorities gave us the security camera footage showing her returning to the campus with her friend. We studied it. Her clothes appeared intact and she walked calmly. The college’s security personnel were on duty at the gates. She did not seek their assistance,” the officer added.

“Since October 11 we have been trying to get her statement recorded before a magistrate which is mandatory but she has not done it,” the officer said.

“The suspects have denied the charges. This investigation is not going to be easy,” said the officer.

Deputy commissioner of police (East) Abhishek Gupta, who is supervising the probe, refused to comment on these findings.

The Durgapur industrial town in West Burdwan district witnessed a political war of words on Monday with BJP’s Suvendu Adhikari, the leader of the opposition in the state legislative assembly, leading a dharna demanding Mamata Banerjee’s resignation.

“No woman is safe in Bengal. Mamata Banerjee has no moral right to continue,” Adhikari said, citing the rape and murder of a post-graduate trainee doctor inside the state-run RG Kar Medical College and Hospital in Kolkata last year and the gangrape of a student at the state-run South Calcutta Law College earlier this year.

Governor CV Ananda Bose also went to Durgapur and met the survivor at the private hospital. “Bengal is no longer safe for the girl child,” he told the media.

The survivor’s father told the media that he would not keep his daughter in Bengal. “This place is not safe. I will take her home,” he told the media.

Shovana Mohanty, chairperson of the Odisha State Commission for Women, also arrived at Durgapur and met the survivor.

The BJP and the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad staged protests in various parts of Bengal, including Kolkata, on Monday.