In a widely condemned response to the gang rape of an MBBS student in West Bengal's Durgapur, Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee seemed to deflect responsibility for ensuring students' safety onto private colleges, asking why the 23-year-old was traveling late at night outside the campus. Her comments have triggered widespread anger, with the BJP accusing her of victim shaming.
“She was studying in a private medical college. Whose responsibility is it? How did she come out at 12.30 at night?” Banerjee asked in her first interaction with the media after the incident. Describing the case as "shocking," she asserted the Bengal Police were taking all necessary steps.".
The Chief Minister further suggested that private medical colleges must ensure the safety of their students and night discipline. They should not be allowed to come out. They have to protect themselves. It is a forest area,” Banerjee said.
Comparing it to neighboring states, Banerjee targeted the BJP regime in Odisha, referring to similar crimes committed there. “In Odisha, girls were raped on sea beaches. What action has been taken by the Odisha government?” she asked.
Banerjee stated that the perpetrators would be given strong punishment. “We will take stringent action. When it happens in other states, it is condemnable. Manipur, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, and Odisha have seen so many (such cases). We think the governments there should take stringent action.”
The BJP lashed out, accusing the Bengal Chief Minister of blaming the victim instead of ensuring justice. BJP spokesperson Gaurav Bhatia posted on X, “Shameless @MamataOfficial a blot on womanhood, even more for being a CM. After RG Kar and Sandeshkhali, now this horrific case and instead of justice, she blames the victim!”
He added, “A Chief Minister who tells girls not to go out at night, rather than ensuring their safety, has no moral right to stay in office. People now realise they have reposed faith in an anarchist, heartless Mamata. She must resign and be held accountable under law.”
Another BJP spokesperson, Shehzad Poonawalla, accused Banerjee of “blaming the beti (daughter) and defending the Balatkari (rapist).” He said, “Time & again: RG Kar, Sandeshkhali, Park Street — this has been done,” and challenged Congress leaders to respond, saying, “Will the outrage lobby who was shouting yesterday — Supriya Shrinate, Priyanka Vadra, Rahul Gandhi etc — open their mouths now?”
The victim, an MBBS second-year student from Jaleswar in Odisha, was attacked on Friday evening when she was out with her friend. A group of men are said to have abducted and raped her in a secluded place.
The father of the victim spoke in pain and said he would take his daughter back to Odisha for her security. “My daughter is in pain. She can’t walk right now. She is bedridden. I am concerned about her safety here. They could kill her any moment. That’s why we want to take her back to Odisha. Trust has been lost. We don’t want her to stay in Bengal. She will pursue her education in Odisha,” he told Times of India, adding that Odisha Chief Minister Mohan Charan Manjhi personally phoned to express his support.
"The Odisha Chief Minister has talked to me. The government is assisting us," he said, seeking admission for his daughter in a medical college in Odisha.
West Bengal Police expressed that they were "deeply saddened" by the attack and committed that justice will be served at a rapid pace. “The pain of the victim is as much ours as it is Odisha’s, and we shall leave no stone unturned to bring the perpetrators to justice,” the police said in a statement on X.
Three men — Apu Bauri (21), Firdos Sekh (23), and Sekh Reajuddin (31) — have been detained, and one additional suspect is in custody. The police are also probing the involvement of the male friend who was with the survivor.
Odisha Chief Minister Manjhi called the crime "highly condemnable and painful," asking Banerjee to take firm action. “I strongly urge the West Bengal Chief Minister, Mamata Banerjee, to take exemplary action against the accused as per the law. I have instructed senior officials to contact the West Bengal government and take necessary steps. The Odisha government will provide all possible assistance to the victim's family,” he said.
The disturbing Durgapur case follows just a year after the murder and rape of a doctor at Kolkata's RG Kar Medical College and is preceded by another case when a student was sexually assaulted at one of the law colleges earlier this year.
