The West Bengal Police on Thursday (October 31, 2025) filed a chargesheet in connection with the gang-rape of a medical student against six persons including the classmate of the survivor.
Charges have been pressed against the six accused for rape, gangrape, extortion, dacoity among other sections of Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS). The chargesheet submitted by Asansol Durgapur Police Commissionerate comes 20 days after the horrific crime.
The sexual assault survivor is an MBBS student at a private medical college. at Durgapur in Paschim Bardhaman district. The student had reportedly gone out of the college with a male friend on the night of October 10. She was allegedly gang-raped by unidentified men in a forest area near the college campus.
While the police had initially arrested five accused — all locals in connection with the crime — on October 14, the survivor’s 23-year-old classmate, a resident of Kaliachak in Bengal’s Malda district, was arrested later. Before the submission of the chargesheet, a test identification parade was held at a correctional home where the accused are lodged.
“The chargesheet was formed after conducting a quick investigation. This is the success of the Asansol-Durgapur Police Commissionerate. We are hopeful that the trial will be completed within two months and the trial process will begin,” Special Public Prosecutor Bibhas Chatterjee told the media on Thursday.
The sexual assault, which came in less than a year after the rape and murder of a doctor at R.G. Kar Medical College and Hospital, has once again raised questions on safety and security of women in West Bengal.
Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee’s remarks that women should not be allowed to come outside in the night time had evoked sharp criticism from her political opponents and people at large.
“Especially girl children at night time…they should not be allowed to come outside. They have to protect themselves also…” Ms. Banerjee had said on October 12. She had also urged private medical colleges to take responsibility for their students, as the police could not keep a watch on every house.