Exclusive: Gang-Rape Survivor's Father Responds To Mamata Banerjee Shocker

The father of the MBBS student gangraped near a medical college in West Bengal's Durgapur has slammed Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee's remarks on women stepping out of college campuses late at night.

The Chief Minister yesterday asked how the 23-year-old student managed to leave the campus at 12.30 am and said students need to "protect themselves" and police cannot know who is out at what time. The police complaint filed in the case, however, states that the incident occurred around 8 pm, and not after midnight, as the Chief Minister claimed.

Hitting out at the Chief Minister's remarks, which have sparked a massive row, the student's father told NDTV, "She is also a woman. How can she say such an irresponsible thing?" He asked if women should quit their jobs and sit at home.

Amid the outrage over her remarks, Banerjee has accused the media of distorting her words. "The media distorted my words. You ask me a question, I answer it, and then you distort it. Do not try this kind of politics," she said.

The second-year student's father said her health condition is currently stable. He said he would take her back to their home state, Odisha. "There is danger here. My daughter's life comes first, her career comes later."

Five people have been arrested in the gangrape case so far, including Sekh Reajuddin, Apu Bauri, Firdos Sekh and SK Nasiruddin.

Asked if he was satisfied with the police action so far, the student's father said, "I request the cops to ensure strict punishment for the guilty so that they don't dare to repeat such a heinous act."

West Bengal police have said it is "deeply saddened" by the incident and assured that the culprits won't go unpunished. "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," it said on X.

Earlier, the student's father had said Odisha Chief Minister Mohan Charan Manjhi had reached out to him. "The Odisha Chief Minister has spoken to me. The administration is helping us," he said, adding that he has requested that his daughter be given admission in an Odisha medical college.