Mamata on Durgapur gangrape: 'Girls shouldn’t venture out at night'

West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Sunday (October 12) broke her silence over the gangrape of a medical student near the premises of a private medical college in Durgapur, saying that girls should not be allowed to go out at night.

Also read | Medical student from Odisha ‘gang-raped’ near college in Bengal’s Durgapur

“This is a shocking incident... We have zero tolerance for such crimes. Three accused have been arrested, and police are searching for others. Nobody will be spared,” she said in her first reaction to the incident.

‘Private colleges must ensure security’

Banerjee maintained that it was the responsibility of the private medical college to ensure the student’s safety and called it unfair to drag her government into the issue. “Private colleges must ensure security within and around their campuses,” she said.

“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... 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,” Banerjee told news agency ANI.

Asks why Bengal being singled out

The chief minister also questioned why her government was being singled out, pointing to similar incidents in other states. Referring to a case nearly a month ago, when a student was gangraped at Odisha’s Puri beach, she asked, “What action is being taken by the Odisha government?”

“This is a private college. Three weeks ago, three girls were raped on the beach in Odisha. What action is being taken by the Odisha government?... The girl was studying in a private medical college. How did she come out at 12.30 am? 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 by the incident, but private medical colleges also should take care of their students, and especially girls,” Banerjee said.

Also read | Four held in connection with Durgapur medical college gang rape

The incident involves a second-year MBBS student of a private medical college near Shobhapur in Durgapur, around 170 km from Kolkata. The survivor, a native of Jaleswar in Odisha, was raped late Friday evening in an area behind the hospital building.