Durgapur Rape Case: Mamata Banerjee’s Remark on ‘Women Not Safe at Night’ Raises Furore Amid Delay in Punishment

Durgapur: Mamata Banerjee’s remarks that ‘women should not be allowed out in the night’ in the light of the gang-rape of a second-year woman medical student at IQ CITY Medical College in Durgapur has drawn widespread criticism from opposition parties and civil society groups.  

On Sunday (October 12) afternoon, speaking to reporters at Dum Dum Airport, she had expressed ‘shock’ and ‘dismay’ over the incident. Before departing on a flight for Alipurduar, the chief minister remarked that the state is not safe for women to be out at night. 

“I am shocked and stunned by the incident. Girls, especially minors, should not be allowed to go at night, they must learn to protect themselves,” she said.

The remark comes amid public outrage over the incident, with many calling for swift justice and improved security measures for women across the state. Banerjee’s comments have, however, drawn more criticism from people in Bengal who argue that the focus should be on improving law enforcement rather than restricting women’s mobility. 

Members of Abhaya Mancha lead a protest to meet the authorities at Durgapur IQ CITY Medical College.

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Banerjee also said, “The girl was studying at a private medical college. Who is responsible for private college? How was she allowed to go out at 12:30 AM? The incident reportedly took place in a forested area and stressed the need for stricter monitoring by private institutions.” 

She reiterated that private medical colleges need to be more alert. They must take care of their students.

Questions have been raised regarding the discrepancy and significant gap between chief minister’s statements and police findings in the Durgapur gang-rape case. Banerjee claimed that the victim had left the college campus around 12:30 AM. 

However, according to the CCTV footage obtained from IQ CITY Medical College, as reviewed by the police, the second year student had left the campus at 7:58 PM with a male classmate to have dinner and returned at 9:29 PM on October 10. This timeline was officially mentioned in a press note issued on October 11 by Sudarshana Ganguly, director of the IQ CITY Medical College. 

The same information was also forwarded to the Swastha Bhaban (headquarters of the state health department). As a result, the origins of the chief minister’s claim regarding 12:30 AM remain unclear. 

A section of police officers of Durgapur, including those within the investigative team, believe that such incorrect statements from the state’s highest administrative authority could potentially influence or complicate the ongoing investigation.  

Speculations of alleged BJP-TMC tie-up in blame game 

In a development that has raised serious concerns about political interference in this ongoing investigation, controversial BJP leader Parijat Ganguly, who was earlier accused in a communal assault case, was spotted on Sunday afternoon inside the office of the commissioner of Asansol-Durgapur police in Durgapur, allegedly exerting influence in the rape case. 

Office of the Asansol- Durgapur Commissioner of Police in Durgapur, West Bengal.

A few months ago, Ganguly was named as the prime accused in an incident where a group of poor Muslim farmers were publicly harassed in broad daylight near the Gammon bridge in Durgapur while they were returning from the Asuria cattle market in Barjora under Bankura district.

Ganguly was arrested from another state but later released on bail. However, his presence in the deputy commissioner of police office has sparked fresh controversy. Eyewitnesses claim that Ganguly was not only given unusual access to the commissioner’s office, but also appeared to be closely monitoring and restricting the movements of the rape survivor’s father. 

According to multiple sources, the victim’s father was seen being accompanied and forcibly restrained by Ganguly, not allowed to speak with anyone, and even his mobile phone was in Ganguly’s hands.

When this reporter attempted to speak with the victim’s father, Ganguly intervened and moved him away too. 

A similar incident occurred in front of police when Pabitra Goswami, a leader of ‘Abhaya Mancha’ (a coalition of diverse organisations, who have regularly held protests over assault incidents since the RG Kar case) tried to speak with the victim's father. Ganguly and his team allegedly took the father away, preventing any direct communication. 

“The mother of Abhaya, the PG student who was raped and brutally murdered at RG Kar Medical College and Hospital in Kolkata last year, had attempted to speak with the Durgapur victim’s mother over the phone after the news became public. However, she was not able to as the Durgapur victim’s mother did not have access to her phone. It was also taken away,” Dr Tomonas Choudhury, a leader of Abhaya Mancha and renowned surgeon in Bengal, told The Wire.

Dr Choudhury stated that Abhaya's mother conveyed her solidarity and support for the proper justice of the Durgapur medical student. 

“When we shared this message with the Durgapur student’s mother, she said her daughter too had participated in several protest rallies in Durgapur last year demanding justice for Abhaya, and now, she has become a victim too. What is happening in Bengal?” he asked.  

On Sunday, members of the Abhaya Mancha and the Joint Platform of Doctors went to IQC CITY Medical College to talk to the authorities but they refused to speak with them. 

Utpal Banerjee, state secretary of the Association of Health Service Doctors West Bengal, told The Wire that the victim’s samples were sent for forensic testing 40 hours after the assault. 

Members of Abhaya Mancha attempted to meet the authorities at Durgapur IQ CITY Medical College but were denied permission.

“We wonder whether the sample collection was done properly. With such a delay, a lot of evidence could be destroyed. Moreover, the location where the student was assaulted was cordoned off by the police after 40 hours. This too raised the possibility of evidence tampering, just like what happened during the RG Kar Hospital incident last year in Kolkata,” he said, adding that female students in educational institutions across the state were no longer feeling safe.

“The dignity of Bengal has hit rock bottom. Therefore, a swift investigation must be conducted into the Durgapur incident, and the real culprits should be given exemplary punishment,” he said, reiterating that the chief minister’s advice that girls should not to go out at night is a medieval and gender- discriminatory directive, and an insult to women. 

The association has demanded that the chief minister withdraw this statement.

Meanwhile, Tamali Bhattacharja, a senior nurse at a hospital in Durgapur, and Sandhya Mondal, a resident of Steel Authority of India’s  quarters in the city, said that the Banerjee’s warning for women to not go out at night clearly reflects the deteriorating law and order situation in the state. 

They added that women are involved in education and employment and such a remark from the chief minister could break their morale. “It will create fear and anxiety among parents,” they said.

According to the police, a total of five accused persons have been arrested so far. They were identified as Sheikh Reazuddin (31), Firdos Sheikh (23) and Apu Bauri (21), Sheikh Nasiruddin (30) and Sheikh Sofikul (28) – all residents of Bijra area, adjacent to IQ CITY medical college. 

Among them, Sofikul’s father is an active worker of the ruling Trinamool Congress, while Sofikul, who works as a contractor, is also an activist and a muscleman of the TMC.

The Durgapur sub-divisional court has ordered 10 days of police custody for the accused.

Several people in Durgapur have pointed out that despite the victim’s father lodging a complaint naming the girl’s classmate, in whose company she was at the time of the incident, the police have not yet arrested him.

When asked specifically about the same, deputy commissioner Abhishek Gupta did not respond to the questions.

In this regard, Tamonas Choudhury said that even after the incident at RG Kar Medical College, people across the state had raised questions about the police investigation. Even the Central Bureau of Investigation did not take any concrete action. The people of West Bengal have raised many questions about the role of CBI in the RG Kar case, he said.

All photos are by Madhu Sudan Chatterjee.

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