Kolkata, October 14: The father of a 23-year-old medical student who was allegedly gang-raped in West Bengal’s Durgapur has appealed to the Odisha government to move his daughter to a hospital in Bhubaneswar, saying her life was in danger.
The woman, a second-year MBBS student, was attacked on Friday evening after she went out of her campus with a male student, police said. Her companion allegedly fled during the assault without alerting anyone, and the perpetrators dragged her into a nearby forested area.
“She was attacked between 8 p.m. and 9 p.m. Her male companion ran away and did not raise an alarm or seek help. The miscreants then dragged her into a jungle area and did unspeakable things to her,” the woman’s father told reporters by phone from Durgapur.
The survivor is being treated at a local hospital, where her condition is said to be improving. Her parents, residents of Jaleswar in Odisha’s Balasore district, rushed to West Bengal after being informed of the assault.
“I appeal to Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi to help shift my daughter to Bhubaneswar. I fear that her life may be in danger,” her father said, adding that he and his wife felt unsafe in Durgapur. “They will kill my daughter. Her health condition has improved, but there is still a danger to her life. I cannot trust them.”
Officials from the Balasore district administration visited the hospital on Saturday, following directions from Majhi, who spoke with the survivor’s father the previous night. Additional District Magistrate Hemant Singh said the West Bengal Police had arrested three men within 36 hours of the incident.
“The Odisha government stands firmly with the family. Necessary coordination is being maintained with the West Bengal Police,” said District Social Welfare Officer Jyotsna Mohanty, who was part of the visiting team.
West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee has faced criticism after local media quoted her as saying that girls should not venture out at night. The survivor’s father dismissed the remark as false, saying his daughter had gone out around 8 p.m., not midnight.
BJP MP Pratap Sarangi accused Banerjee’s government of allowing a “complete breakdown of law and order” in the state.
