Amid Durgapur medical college case row, engineering student ‘raped’ in Kolkata

Kolkata rape case: The accused allegedly spiked the engineering student's drinks with drugs and later when she fell unconscious, he raped her.

Amid the ongoing row over the alleged rape of a 23-year-old medical college student in West Bengal's Durgapur, another second-year engineering student was allegedly raped by her classmate in Kolkata, and the accused was reportedly arrested from the Anandapur area.

The accused had gone into hiding for a few days, and when he returned home in Anandapur, the police arrested him. (PTI file photo/Representative)

A senior police officer said that the woman, who came to the state to study, lodged a complaint against her classmate at the Anandapur police station, alleging that he spiked her drinks with drugs, and later, when she fell unconscious, raped her.

Authorities did not reveal where the engineering student hailed from, news agency PTI news reported.

"The student in her complaint alleged that she was staying in a rented flat in Anandapur, where the accused came and mixed drugs in her drinks. She became unconscious after drinking it and was later raped by her classmate," the news agency quoted the officer.

The accused had gone into hiding for a few days, and when he returned home in Anandapur, the police arrested him. A city court sent the accused to police custody till October 22.

"We have started the investigation, and the details of what happened will be revealed soon," the officer added.

Durgapur rape case

The investigation into the alleged rape of a 23-year-old medical student in Durgapur is riddled with twists and turns, which further took a dramatic turn after the examination of the security camera footage from campus, the arrest of her male classmate, and the police ruling out a gangrape.

The male classmate, who accompanied the student off campus on the night of October 10, is the sixth person to be arrested in the case. The same night she was allegedly gangraped by some men, who dragged her to a forest and committed the crime.

Investigators highlighted that several contradictions were found in the statements made by the medical student, her friend, the medical records and the arrested suspects.

Earlier on Tuesday, Asansol-Durgapur Police commissioner Sunil Kumar Choudhary ruled out gangrape, and said, “Investigation and medical reports have so far indicated the involvement of only one person. The roles of the others are being reviewed. The friend of the victim is not above suspicion.”

Additionally, CCTV footage from the campus showed the student and her now-arrested friend walking back to the college.

The classmate was seen stepping out of the campus with the 23-year-old around 7:58 pm. He then returned alone at 8:42 pm and again went out after some time. Finally, around 9:29 pm, the medical student and the classmate were seen entering the campus together.

"When a woman is dragged through a jungle by five men and gangraped, there is always evidence. The college authorities gave us the security camera footage showing her returning to the campus with her friend. We studied it. Her clothes appeared intact, and she walked calmly. The college’s security personnel were on duty at the gates. She did not seek their assistance,” HT reported earlier, citing a police officer.

The other five arrested suspects are in police custody.