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CCTV footage shows Durgapur survivor, friend walking back to campus together
Police said that the medical student's friend, who stepped out of campus with her, was seen returning alone and again going out before coming back with her.
The Durgapur rape case has witnessed multiple twists and turns, all of which, by Tuesday night, led to the arrest of the medical student's classmate, who was with her on the night of the crime. A fresh perspective was brought in by the CCTV footage from the campus, which showed the student and her friend walking back to the college.
The friend's arrest came shortly after Asansol-Durgapur police commissioner Sunil Kumar Choudhary ruled out gang-rape and said he was not above suspicion.
“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,” Choudhary said at a press conference.
The 23-year-old medical student had stepped out of the campus with her male classmate to eat at a dhaba nearby on the evening of October 10. While outside, he left her alone. Following this, she was allegedly dragged to a forest and raped there.
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The police complaint in this case was lodged by the student's father, who named his daughter's friend as a suspect in addition to five anonymous persons. The crime allegedly occurred after 8 pm, and the woman's father claimed before the media that her classmates reached out to him around 9:30 pm.
Officers at the Asansol-Durgapur Police Commissionerate told HT that several contradictions have been observed in the statements made by the student, her friend, the medical records and the suspects in custody.
What CCTV footage showed
An officer said that college authorities provided the police with security camera footage from the night of the incident, where the student can be seen walking back to the campus with her friend.
"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,” the officer said.
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The officer added that authorities have been trying to get the student to record her statement before a magistrate, a mandatory process, since October 11, but "she has not done it".
The student's male classmate, who accompanied her on the night of October 10, was arrested after his responses during questioning were found to be incoherent, news agency PTI reported, citing a senior police officer.
Police said that the classmate, a Malda resident, was seen accompanying the 23-year-old out of the campus around 7:58 pm.
CCTV footage then showed him returning to the college campus alone at 8:42 and again going out after some time. The officer said that around 9:29 pm, the medical student and her classmate were seen entering the campus together.
The woman's father suspected that the classmate "could have some vital role" behind the crime. "I am sure that her friend definitely has some kind of involvement in the crime. He accompanied my daughter out of the college. I think this could be pre-planned, or else this could not have happened," he had said.
The friend's arrest brought the total toll to six. The other five suspects, Sheikh Safiqul, Sheikh Nasiruddin, Apu Bauri (21), Firdous Shiekh (23), and Sheikh Riazuddin (32), have been remanded to police custody.
The five men have been charged under Sections 70(1) (gang rape) and 3(5) (criminal act with common intention) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, HT reported earlier.
However, a senior officer said that police have so far not found evidence of any of the five suspects having a criminal history. He said that the medical student did not mention any names in her complaint, adding that the arrests were made based on phone call records and circumstantial evidence.
