Kolkata gang-rape: Survivor's medical report confirms abrasion marks on neck, chest

NDTV and India Today, quoting the medical report said that, no external genital or oral injuries, however, have been found.

Doctors, however, haven’t ruled out the possibility of a sexual assault given the nature of injuries on the survivor and are awaiting confirmation from the forensic department, reports said.

Also read: Kolkata gang rape: Student ‘filmed, blackmailed, beaten with hockey stick’

4 arrested

An earlier medical examination conducted on the survivor confirmed that there were signs of forceful penetration, bite and nail marks on her body.

Findings of the report came a day after the survivor, 24 and a student at South Calcutta Law College alleged that she was gang-raped. She has said that she was raped by two senior students and an alumnus of the institute in the guard's room on June 25.

So far four people have been arrested in the case. While police, based on the survivor’s complaint, arrested prime accused Manojit Mishra, Promit Mukherjee and Zaid Ahmed, on Saturday, police arrested college security guard Pinaki Banerjee after he failed to provide coherent responses during questioning.

SIT formed

"The guard did nothing to protect the victim. Evidence suggests he left the scene even as the victim was forcibly taken into his room by the main accused, while the other two stood guard outside," the officer told PTI.

The Kolkata Police have formed a five-member special investigation team (SIT), led by an assistant commissioner rank officer, to probe the case, amidst intensifying public protests over the incident.

On Saturday, the complainant was taken to the college to reconstruct the crime, he said.

CCTV footage corroborates allegations: Police

CCTV camera footage obtained from South Calcutta Law College has corroborated the gang-rape allegations made by the complainant, an investigating officer told PTI on Saturday.

The footage, spanning over seven hours — from 3.30 PM to 10.50 PM on June 25 — captured movements around the college premises, including the survivor being forced into the guard's room.

Also read: Kolkata law student gangrape: Bengal BJP unit chief detained over protest

"The CCTV footage confirms the girl's allegations. It shows the movements of the three accused, the security guard, and the victim. We are currently examining the footage," the officer said.

‘Clear signs of struggle’

Investigators also collected evidence from three locations on campus — the students’ union room, the washroom, and the guard’s room — that supports the victim's claims.

Seized items include strands of hair, several bottles containing unknown liquids, and a hockey stick.

"There are clear signs of a struggle in all three rooms. The samples have been sent for forensic examination," the officer added.

In her complaint, the survivor had alleged that she was threatened with a hockey stick by the accused.

Investigators also recovered a 1.5-minute video clip from a mobile phone belonging to one of the three arrested suspects — Manojit Mishra (an alumnus and ad-hoc staff), along with current students Pratim Mukherjee and Zaib Ahmed.

"A forensic analysis of the video is underway. We're trying to determine if it was shared or deleted," the officer said.

The SIT is expected to record a confidential statement from the victim and her parents.

Also read: Kolkata law college gang rape: What we know about the 4 arrested accused

The victim appeared in a city court on Saturday afternoon to provide her secret deposition.

Possible motive

Discussing a possible motive, the officer said, "We suspect the gangrape occurred after the victim rejected a marriage proposal from Manojit Mishra, which enraged him." Police were also trying to find out whether the entire crime was pre-planned, he said.

"Going by the sequence of events, it appears that the prime accused tortured the victim after she rejected his marriage proposal. This has been corroborated by the circumstantial evidence," the officer said.

"But whether it was a pre-planned crime needs to be proved," the officer told PTI.

According to the investigators, the woman told the three accused that she had a boyfriend and was "happy with him" and would not "cheat him".

The trio then threatened to kill her boyfriend and lodge false cases against her parents if she continued to resist the prime accused's proposal, she alleged.

NCW demands action

Meanwhile, the National Commission for Women (NCW) on Saturday wrote to West Bengal Chief Secretary Manoj Pant asking him to take action in connection with the crime.

Also read: Kolkata gangrape: What can one do if a friend rapes friend? asks TMC MP

NCW Chairperson Vijaya Rahatkar termed the crime as "grave" which has "shaken public conscience".

"This incident is not just an individual crime; it's a blow to our collective sense of security. It demands a swift and institutional response from the state," she wrote.

BJP rally stopped

The incident has also sparked a political slugfest in the state with the BJP accusing the state government of failing to ensure campus safety and demanding swift action against the culprits.

Tensions flared up on Saturday as police stopped BJP rally led by its West Bengal unit chief Sukanta Majumdar and detained him along with several other party leaders when they tried to take out the protest march to the law college in the city, where the student was allegedly gang-raped.

"The protest march was stopped at Gariahat crossing in south Kolkata, and Majumdar and several other BJP leaders were detained. They were taken to the Kolkata Police headquarters in Lalbazar," a senior officer said.

Also read: Kolkata: Woman gangraped for rejecting marriage proposal, says police

BJP seeks Mamata’s resignation

The BJP in New Delhi said West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee should apologise and offer to resign over the alleged gang rape of the law college student in Kolkata, claiming that all the accused were linked to the ruling Trinamool Congress.

Majumdar alleged that there is "no security for women and they are not at all safe in Bengal".

"We were here to protest against the rising number of crimes against women. The police did not allow us to hold the rally. The chief minister must take responsibility for the gang rape incident," the union minister said in Kolkata.

He also said, "The chief minister is not only the chief minister but also our police minister. Police personnel act like Trinamool Congress workers. They are preventing us from conducting a protest rally. Mamata does not want Sukanta Majumdar to hold any rally here," he said.

Watch | Kolkata law student rape: 'Like RG Kar movement, we are planning big protests'

The 3-km protest march was planned by the BJP from the Gairahat crossing to the South Calcutta Law College in the Kasba area.

Later, Majumdar and two other party leaders refused to sign a bail bond.