Durgapur gangrape case: One more held, total arrests now 5

Representative image

The West Bengal Police on Monday arrested one more persons in connection with the alleged gang rape of a medical student in Durgapur, taking the total number of apprehensions in the case to five, PTI reported citing a senior officer.

The 23-year-old woman, hailing from Jaleswar in Odisha's Balasore district, was gang raped on Friday night when she went outside the private medical college with a friend to have dinner.

Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCP) Abhisekh Gupta of the Asansol-Durgapur Police Commissionerate told PTI, "Two more arrests have been made. With these, all five accused have been taken into custody based on the complaint filed by the woman."

The Asansol-Durgapur Police Commissionerate on Sunday arrested three persons — Apu Bauri (21), Firdous Sheikh (23), and Sheikh Riazuddin (32) for their alleged involvement in the crime. The fourth accused, identified as Sheikh Nasiruddin, 24, from Biraj, was detained on Sunday and taken into custody after a long night of questioning.

According to the police, the other three accused, who were arrested earlier, mentioned Nasiruddin’s name during interrogation. Investigators said his motorcycle was used by the group to escape from the crime scene. The bike has also been seized by the police as part of the investigation.

They have been booked under Section 70(1) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), which deals with gang rape, and Section 3(5), which pertains to joint criminal liability. The court has sent them to 10 days of police custody.

The 23-year-old survivor, who is from Balasore in Odisha, was allegedly dragged outside her college campus and raped late Friday night. She had gone off campus with a male friend when the attack took place.

The student was immediately taken to a hospital, where she is now stable but deeply traumatised, according to her family.

Meanwhile, both the National Commission for Women (NCW) and the West Bengal Commission for Women have taken suo motu cognisance of the case. The NCW has asked for an action-taken report within five days, while the state commission has sought a report from the police within 15 days.