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Kolkata, Oct 30 (IANS) Police filed a charge sheet before the Durgapur sub-divisional court on Thursday in the alleged gang rape of a second-year medical student, 20 days after the incident. An officer gave this information.
According to sources, the chargesheet names six accused and details several charges including rape, gang rape and extortion. The student’s classmate and boyfriend, who were with her on the night of the incident, have been charged with rape, while three others have been charged with gang rape and two others have been charged with extortion.
After the arguments, the court directed that the case be heard expeditiously.
Special public prosecutor Vibhas Chatterjee said the police completed the investigation in record time. Chatterjee told reporters, “The charge sheet was prepared after a prompt and detailed investigation. We presented it before the court today. This is a significant achievement for the Asansol-Durgapur Police Commissionerate. We are hopeful that the trial will conclude within two months.”
All the six accused, currently in judicial custody, will be produced again in the Durgapur court on Friday for further hearing.
According to police sources, the victim, who hails from Odisha, had participated in the Test Identification (TI) parade a few days ago and had successfully identified the five accused who were arrested from the village near the private medical college. He also identified one of them as the main culprit and provided details of each man’s role during the attack.
After the identification process, the survivor was taken back to her home in Odisha. Police said she could return to Durgapur if her testimony was required during the trial.
Earlier this week, the TI Parade report was presented before the Durgapur court, confirming that Sheikh Firdous had sexually assaulted the victim on the night of October 10.
However, the victim’s lawyer argued that apart from Firdaus, five other people, including the victim’s classmate and boyfriend, were also involved in the attack “in some way or the other”.
The horrific incident took place on the night of October 10, when the second-year medical student was allegedly gang-raped in a forested area near a private medical college and hospital in Durgapur, located in West Burdwan district.
Based on the victim’s complaint, the police arrested five people soon after the incident. Investigators later concluded that one person had directly carried out the attack while others were involved in different roles. Subsequently, the victim’s boyfriend was also arrested after police found discrepancies in his statements during interrogation.
The case, which sparked outrage among students and women’s groups in the area, is now set for fast-track trial proceedings as directed by the court.
–IANS
SH/PGH