- The 23-year-old MBBS student was assaulted around 8 pm, not at midnight as claimed by Mamata Banerjee
- The victim was out with a college friend when the sexual assault occurred near a medical college in Durgapur
- Mamata Banerjee's remarks sparked a massive row, with opposition accusing her of victim shaming
The 23-year-old MBBS student gangraped near a medical college in West Bengal's Durgapur did not leave the campus at midnight, as suggested by Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee. NDTV has accessed the complaint filed by the woman's father, which formed the basis of the FIR in the case. The complaint states that the sexual assault took place around 8 pm when the woman was out with a college friend.
Earlier, the Chief Minister tried to shift the responsibility of students' security to private colleges and questioned how the student, originally from Odisha, managed to leave the campus late at night.
"She was studying in a private medical college. Whose responsibility is it? How did she come out at 12.30 at night?" She said private medical colleges should take care of their students and the "culture at night". "They should not be allowed to come out. They have to protect themselves. It is a forest area," Banerjee said.
The remarks sparked a massive row. The Chief Minister was accused of victim-shaming and evading responsibility for the heinous crime.
BJP MLA Agnimitra Paul said the Chief Minister is lying and that the student was out at 8 pm to buy food. "Like Afghanistan, West Bengal too has a Taliban government under Mamata Banerjee's leadership. Mamata Banerjee wants to say women in West Bengal won't step out after midnight. People won't go to offices, and doctors won't go to hospitals. Are you saying we will get raped if we step out after midnight?" she asked.
CPM state secretary Mohammed Salim, too, asked if there was a Taliban rule in Bengal. "After the RG Kar case, the police botched up the investigation and protected criminals. During that time, too, they said women should not work at night. This mindset is at odds with the ideology of Raja Ram Mohan Roy and Vidyasagar and our social reforms. Men and women are equal; does Mamata Banerjee accept this? It is the government's responsibility. Mamata Banerjee always blames women, be it Park Street or any other incident," she said.
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.
