Father of RG Kar Medical College rape and murder victim on Tuesday slammed West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee for her recent comments on the incident, accusing her of blaming the victim instead of addressing the state’s deteriorating law and order situation.
“My daughter has spoken very well, but what the Chief Minister said was extremely disappointing. If she cannot ensure women’s safety, she might as well issue a fatwa banning girls from leaving their homes from tomorrow. That would at least stop such incidents, according to her logic," he said
He added that such remarks send a wrong message to the entire country, particularly to states like Odisha, from where the survivor hails. “What message is she giving to Odisha by saying these things? Instead of taking responsibility, she is putting the blame on the victim. We find this behaviour deeply offensive,” he said.
The father further alleged that the Chief Minister has failed to monitor law and order effectively. “She is not able to see what is happening in the state. If she cannot do her duty, she should resign,” he said, calling for accountability and justice for his daughter.
Earlier, Mamata Banerjee had said that girls should not be allowed to move out of college at night.
“The girls should not be allowed to go outside (college) at night. They have to protect themselves also. There is a forest area. Police are searching all the people. Nobody will be excused. Whoever is guilty will be punished strictly. Three people have already been arrested. We will take stringent action…” she said.
“When it happens in other states, it is also condemnable. Such incidents have taken place in Manipur, UP, Bihar, Odisha; we also think the government must take stringent action there. In our state, we charge-sheeted the people within 1–2 months, and the lower court gave the order to hang the accused,” she added.
“The girl was studying in a private medical college. How did she come out at 12:30 a.m.? As far as I know, the incident took place in the forest area. I do not know what happened. The investigation is on. I’m shocked to see the incident, but private medical colleges also should take care of their students, and especially girls,” Mamata further said, as quoted by news agency ANI.
The victim, a medical student, is from Jaleswar in Odisha. The student had gone out of the campus on Friday at 8:30 p.m. with a male friend, when a man dragged her to a secluded place behind the hospital and raped her.
The police received information about the incident and rushed to the spot, following which a probe into the matter began. The survivor was admitted to the hospital for medical examination afterward.
Police have so far made three arrests in the case and are also questioning the medical college staff and other people, including the friend with whom the woman had gone out of the campus.
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