Durgapur rape survivor was in relationship with arrested classmate, police say

“The survivor was in a relationship with the arrested friend. We have gathered sufficient evidence to establish that,” an officer said.

The police investigating the alleged gang rape of a 23-year-old medical student in Durgapur have said that the survivor was in a relationship with one of the arrested accused, PTI reported.

Police officials arrest men allegedly involved in the gang rape of a second-year MBBS student at a private medical college in Durgapur, West Bengal.(PTI)

“The survivor was in a relationship with the arrested friend. We have gathered sufficient evidence to establish that,” an officer said, adding that their chats on WhatsApp support the finding.

The survivor had reportedly gone out of the college campus with the accused on October 10 when she was sexually assaulted, the police said.

The man, a resident of Malda district, is also the survivor's classmate and was the last to be arrested. He was detained on October 11 and arrested on Tuesday after investigators found “glaring inconsistencies” in his statements.

Both the survivor and the accused had gone out as part of a planned meeting on the night of the incident, PTI quoted the officer as saying.

Both have told the investigators that they had gone to a jungle near a cremation ground on the night of the incident, according to the police.

“According to their version, three miscreants followed them on their way to the jungle,” the officer said. Both the surivor and accused further alleged that the three men had followed them when they entered the forest, and suddenly attacked them, the officer added.

According to the police, the two have repeatedly changed their versions of the incident, with investigators suspecting attempts to mislead the probe, PTI reported.

Five arrested accused and survivor's classmate questioned

The five accused initially arrested in the case and the survivor's classmate were questioned by the police in multiple rounds throughout the day, according to the PTI report.

The officer said that at one stage, the accused had been brought face-to-face to conduct a cross-examination of their statements.

The police earlier today cordoned off the crime scene in the forested area once again to conduct further investigation into the incident.

“Although a section had been sealed off earlier, an additional area was cordoned off today,” PTI quoted the officer as saying.