Three Arrested After Gang-Rape of Medical Student in Durgapur, Protests Erupt on Campus
Three individuals have been arrested in connection with the gang-rape of a medical college student reported in West Bengal’s Durgapur on Friday night (October 10). The incident took place at a secluded area near the IQ City Medical College and Hospital.
According to reports, a second-year student from the college, who hails from Jaleswar in Odisha, was allegedly gang-raped by a classmate and at least three others barely a km away from the college.
The student had gone out for dinner with her classmate when she was allegedly dragged into a forested patch by the miscreants.
This incident comes amid a series of sexual assault allegations from multiple campuses across Bengal – including R.G. Kar Medical College and Hospital, South Calcutta Law College and IIM Calcutta – over the past 15 months. The assault has created a sense of fear and outrage in the heart of Durgapur.
CPI(M) activists protesting at New Township police station in Durgapur, demanding the arrest of culprits and giving exemplary punishment. Photo: Author provided
After learning about the incident, the survivor’s parents and relatives rushed from Jaleswar to Durgapur on Saturday morning. Speaking to the media, her father said, “There is no safety for women in the state. My daughter is not safe here.”
The survivor’s father has lodged an FIR against her classmate Wasif Ali and three unidentified miscreants at the New Township Police Station in Durgapur. In his complaint, he alleged, “Her classmate took my daughter to the vacant place under false pretences.” He further claimed that Rs 5,000 and her mobile phone were snatched from her by the miscreants.
According to the survivor’s 50-year-old father, “She was admitted in a critical condition, and the attending doctors informed me that her condition is serious. She is currently under medical supervision in the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) at a hospital in Durgapur.”
Police sources said that the victim’s classmate Ali, who hails from Malda, has been detained, while the other accused – believed to be known to him – remain unidentified. The police have interrogated Ali several times to cross-check his statements with the victim’s account and to gather information about the three young miscreants, believed to be local residents.
Students of IQ City Medical College and Hospital protesting on the college campus, demanding the arrest of the culprits. Photo: Author provided.
Police officials added that the classmate has been cooperating with the investigation. Ali, meanwhile, claimed that he had rescued his classmate from the clutches of the miscreants who assaulted her.
Deputy Commissioner of Police (Durgapur) Abhishek Gupta stated on Saturday afternoon, “We have kept the crime investigation on top priority and are following every procedure.” He added, “We have not taken the male student [Ali] into custody since he is cooperating well with the investigation, and our inquiry has progressed quite well so far.”
Regarding the alleged outsiders, Gupta said, “Many things are still under the scanner, which we need to scrutinise properly.”
On Saturday night, Sunil Kumar Choudhury, Police Commissioner of the Asansol-Durgapur Police Commissionerate, visited the hospital and spoke with the victim, as well as with officials of IQ City Hospital and the survivor’s father. He confirmed that the investigation is ongoing.
What happened at IQ City Hospital in Durgapur on Friday night?
IQ City Private Medical College and Hospital is located in Sovapur, approximately 12 kms from the Durgapur Railway Station. On Friday night, the survivor and Ali had left the college premises to get food. The two exited through the west gate of the college.
There are no food stalls outside that western gate and the area beyond it is deserted, with dense bushes on both sides of the road. The spot adjoins the Pandraro area, where, according to reports, five miscreants dragged the student into the forested patch.
Ali allegedly fled the scene after being threatened by the miscreants. Later, he reportedly returned to rescue the devastated and injured student and took her to the hospital for treatment.
However, several questions have since emerged — why did the classmate not inform the college authorities after fleeing the spot under threat? Why did he fail to alert anyone when the incident occurred barely 1 km from the college? Why did he return alone to rescue the victim? Did he know the miscreants personally?
Surprisingly, even after news of the incident began to spread, the IQ City Medical College authorities remained silent for a considerable time. It was only on Saturday afternoon that the college administration issued an official statement. However, the statement doesn’t answer many of the questions that have emerged after the incident.
Dr. Sudarshana Ganguly, the Director of IQ City Medical College, said in her statement: “At 7:58 p.m. on Friday, both students left the campus for dinner. One of them returned at 8:42 pm, but after loitering near the main exit for around six minutes, [the female student] stepped out again at 8:48 p.m. The two then returned together at 9:29 p.m. The girl proceeded towards the hostel around 9:31 p.m. It later came to light that the girl student, while outside the campus, had endured an assault – an occurrence she herself had claimed and reported.”
However several questions remain unanswered despite Ganguly’s statement. Was the survivor assaulted when she left the campus for the second time after having her dinner? When was she taken to the hospital? It is also not clear why she returned alone and where was the boy before they went out again?
Protests erupt after the incident
Protests erupted at IQ City Medical College on Saturday afternoon, demanding immediate safety measures and justice for the survivor. Students insisted that all those involved in the gang-rape must be identified and punished exemplarily.
On Sunday morning, several students of the college told The Wire,
“When we sit and talk with friends anywhere outside, local miscreants often attack us. They threaten us in various ways and forcibly snatch our money. We informed the college authorities, but no proper action was ever taken. There is no student council at IQ City Medical College and no democratic environment, so we have to live in fear.”
On Saturday evening, the Communist Party of India (Marxist) [CPI(M)] organised a rally and submitted a deputation to both the college authorities and Durgapur New Township Police Station, demanding strict action from the administration and police.
CPI(M) leader Biswarup Banerjee stated that the prevailing corruption and hooliganism in the state have created an environment where the administration takes no action against miscreants, allowing such unchecked incidents to occur. “Such incidents have never happened in Durgapur before. Durgapur is no longer just an industrial hub; it has become an educational centre where many students from other states come to study. Their safety must be ensured,” he added.
The BJP also staged a protest in front of the New Township Police Station. State BJP leader and Durgapur (West) MLA Lakshman Gharui joined the demonstration, alleging that the police, as in other parts of Bengal, “have remained dormant.”
The Association of Health Service Doctors, West Bengal, has demanded an impartial investigation into the case and the immediate arrest of the culprits. Meanwhile, a 25-member team from Abhaya Manch and the Joint Platform of Doctors arrived at IQ City Medical College in Durgapur on Sunday afternoon, but have not been allowed to speak to the college authorities at the time of publishing this report..
A police team also arrived at the scene on Sunday morning to continue the investigation. The area has been cordoned off, and drones were deployed to assist in the search operation.
On Sunday morning, the victim’s father said that he no longer wished for his daughter to continue her studies in Durgapur. He plans to take her back to Odisha.
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