Kolkata: West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee stirred debate on Sunday after advising colleges not to allow girls to go outside at night in response to the alleged gangrape of a medical student in Durgapur.3
Expressing shock over the incident, Banerjee said, “I’m shocked to see the incident, but private medical colleges also should take care of their students, especially girls. The girls should not be allowed to go outside at night. They have to protect themselves also. There is a forest area. Police are searching all the people.”3
A second-year medical student from Odisha’s Jaleswar, studying at a private college in Durgapur, was allegedly gangraped after stepping out with a classmate to get food. According to her father, the classmate fled the scene when two or three men arrived and assaulted her.
“At 10 PM, her friend called and said my daughter had been raped. The hostel was far away and she had gone out to eat. There is no proper security or system here. Such a serious incident occurred, but there was no immediate response,” the father told reporters.
Banerjee condemned the crime and promised strict action against the accused. “Nobody will be excused. Whoever is guilty will be punished strictly. Three people have already been arrested. We will take stringent action. When it happens in other states, it is also condemnable,” she said.
Drawing comparisons with incidents elsewhere, the Chief Minister questioned the silence over crimes in other regions. “Three weeks ago, three girls were raped on the beach in Odisha. What action has the Odisha government taken? Such incidents have happened in Manipur, UP, Bihar, Odisha. Governments there must also act strictly,” she added.
Meanwhile, Asansol-Durgapur Police Commissionerate DCP Abhishek Gupta confirmed that three people have been arrested in connection with the case. “They have been forwarded to court today. Further investigation is ongoing, and everything is going according to protocol,” he said.
The alleged assault, which took place between 8 and 9 PM, has sparked outrage and renewed debates about women’s safety and institutional accountability in West Bengal’s private colleges.
