Bhubaneswar: The male classmate, who had accompanied the second-year medical student from Odisha for dinner on Friday night when she was allegedly gang-raped outside her private college campus in Durgapur, was arrested on Tuesday.
The arrest followed the 23-year-old survivor’s deposition before a magistrate in which she stated that the classmate had also “tried to force himself on her”, CNN-News18 reported, quoting sources.
With this, the number of arrests in the case has gone up to six.
Meanwhile, police commissioner of the Asansol-Durgapur Police Commissionerate Sunil Kumar Chowdhury confirmed involvement of one person in the sexual assault case, citing the statement given by the survivor and physical evidence. “We have found traces of the five accused at the scene of the incident. However, we are still determining the specific role of each person in this case. Based on technical evidence and the victim’s statement, one person is confirmed to be involved in the sexual assault. Clothes of one accused have been collected and sent to a forensic laboratory.”
“The female victim’s male friend is also under our scrutiny. We are still questioning him as many reports are yet to be received. We are still awaiting the FSL and medico-legal reports,” he told the media.
In the afternoon, West Bengal Police took the five arrested accused – Sheikh Safiqul, Sheikh Nasiruddin, Apu Bauri (21), Firdous Sheikh (23), and Sheikh Riazuddin (32)- and the male friend to the jungle adjacent to Paranaganj Kali Bari cremation ground for reconstruction of the crime as a part of their ongoing probe. Two among them – Sheikh Riazuddin and Sheikh Nasiruddin – were also taken to native place, Bijra village, for on-ground verification.
All five, who are residents of local villages, have been charged under sections 70(1) (gang rape) and 3(5) (crime committed with common intention) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS). One among them is a former security guard at the college, another works at a hospital, one is employed on a temporary basis with the local civic body, and another is unemployed, according to reports.
