Odisha MBBS Student Gangraped in Bengal: Father Cites Safety Concerns, Plans to Return Home

The father of the MBBS student gangraped in Bengal has said he will take her back to Odisha

Kolkata:

The father of the MBBS student from Odisha, who was gangraped in West Bengal's Durgapur, has expressed his intention to take his daughter back to Odisha due to concerns about her safety in Bengal.

"My daughter is in pain. She can't walk right now. She is bedridden. I am concerned about her safety here. They could kill her any moment. That's why we want to take her back to Odisha. Trust has been lost. We don't want her to stay in Bengal. She will pursue her education in Odisha," the distressed father told news agency ANI today.

The 23-year-old from Jaleswar in Odisha is a second-year MBBS student at a private medical college in Durgapur. On Friday night, she was out with a friend when some men approached them. They forcibly took the woman to a secluded area and raped her.

The woman's father mentioned that Odisha Chief Minister Mohan Charan Manjhi has contacted him. "The Odisha Chief Minister has spoken to me. The administration is helping us," he stated, adding that he has requested his daughter be granted admission in an Odisha medical college.

Three individuals have been arrested, and one is detained in connection with the crime. The arrested suspects have been identified as Apu Bauri (21), Firdos Sekh (23), and Sekh Reajuddin (31). The male friend accompanying the survivor is also under investigation, according to police sources.

West Bengal police have expressed being "deeply saddened" by the incident and assured that the perpetrators will be punished. "The pain of the victim is as much ours as it is Odisha's, and we shall leave no stone unturned to bring the perpetrators to justice," they stated on X.

Odisha Chief Minister Manjhi described the incident as "highly condemnable and painful". "I strongly urge the West Bengal Chief Minister, Mamata Banerjee, to take exemplary action against the accused as per the law. I have instructed senior officials to contact the West Bengal government and take necessary steps. The Odisha government will provide all possible assistance to the victim's family," he declared.

This incident in Durgapur comes a year after the brutal rape and murder of a doctor in Kolkata's RG Kar Medical College and Hospital, and months after a student was raped at a law college in Kolkata.

The opposition BJP has criticized the Trinamool Congress government regarding the Durgapur incident. BJP MLA Agnimitra Paul led a road blockade in Durgapur to protest against the incident. Targeting the Chief Minister, she stated, "We are waiting for Mamata Banerjee to comment on the integrity of that woman. The Chief Minister does not stand with the gangrape victim. She stands with the accused. Crores are spent on Durga Puja, where Trinamool leaders offer prayers, but women are given no respect. We are protesting today to tell the people of Bengal that if you don't protest today, women in your family will be the next," she told the media.

Bengal minister and Trinamool leader, formerly a BJP MP from Asansol, called the incident "deeply shameful and tragic". "Criminals who commit such acts should be tried in fast-track courts and receive the harshest possible punishment. We have been discussing this, and our Chief Minister has launched a campaign in support of this."

Chief Minister Banerjee has termed it a "shocking" incident and said the private college administration must have ensured the student's security. Criticizing the Odisha government, she questioned what the BJP government there has done after sexual assault cases on the state's beaches. "She was studying in a private medical college. Whose responsibility is this? How did she come out at 12.30 at night? The private medical college should take care of its students. It is a forest area."