The Durgapur rape case has taken a significant turn with the emergence of CCTV footage that contradicts earlier narratives. The footage, obtained from the medical college campus, reportedly shows the student and her male classmate walking back to the college premises on the night of the alleged incident.
This development follows the arrest of the student’s classmate, a day after police commissioner Sunil Kumar Choudhary stated that the investigation so far points to the involvement of only one perpetrator, and that the friend was not above suspicion. Choudhary had mentioned that medical reports indicated a single assailant, while the roles of others were under review.
The 23-year-old medical student had reportedly left the campus with her classmate on the evening of October 10 to visit a nearby dhaba. According to initial reports, he left her there alone before she was allegedly attacked and taken to a forest. The student’s father had filed a police complaint, naming her friend as a suspect along with five unnamed individuals, suggesting a possible pre-planned incident.
However, the CCTV evidence presents a different picture. College authorities provided footage showing the student and her friend returning to the campus together. An officer involved in the investigation noted that the student’s clothes appeared to be intact in the footage, and she seemed to be walking calmly, not seeking assistance from security personnel present at the gates. The officer also pointed out that the student had not yet recorded her statement before a magistrate, a mandatory step in such investigations.
The classmate’s arrest came after his statements during questioning were found to be inconsistent. Police records indicate he was seen leaving the campus with the student at approximately 7:58 pm. Later footage showed him returning alone at 8:42 pm, leaving again, and then re-entering the campus with the student at 9:29 pm.
The student’s father had expressed his suspicion about the classmate’s involvement, believing the incident might have been pre-planned. The friend’s arrest brings the total number of suspects to six, with five others already in police custody and charged under sections related to gang rape and criminal conspiracy. While these five individuals have been remanded, police have yet to find evidence of prior criminal history among them. The initial complaint from the student did not name any specific individuals, with arrests reportedly made based on call records and circumstantial evidence.