In a dramatic development that has deepened the mystery around assault on a young medical student, West Bengal Police have arrested the victim's classmate, bringing the total number of suspects in custody to six. The arrest, which occurred late Tuesday evening, has cast a new light on the chilling events that unfolded outside a private medical college campus in Durgapur last Friday.
The 23-year-old second-year MBBS student, originally from Jaleswar in Odisha, was reportedly lured out for dinner by her classmate, identified as Wasif Ali, on the night of October 10. What began as an innocuous outing quickly spiralled into a nightmare when the pair ventured near a secluded jungle area adjacent to the Paranaganj Kali Bari cremation ground. According to the complaint given to the police, the victim was allegedly dragged into the underbrush, and subjected to a brutal assault. Initially claimed that she was gang raped by multiple people, but later in her recorded statement before a local magistrate, the survivor has claimed that her trusted friend had made unwanted advances, attempting to force himself upon her without consent. This revelation, combined with forensic inconsistencies in his account during initial interrogations, prompted authorities to elevate him from a key witness to a prime suspect.
From the very outset of the probe, the young man had been under intense scrutiny.Asansol Durgapur Commissionerate Police had detained him for questioning on day one, subjecting him to hours of grilling to unravel his precise movements that fateful evening. Wasif had allegedly left the spot after they were accosted by the now arrested, other accused. "He was never above suspicion," said Commissioner of Police Sunil Kumar Choudhury .
Earlier in the day, officers seized the suspect's clothing for forensic analysis, hoping to uncover traces of DNA or other biological material that could link him directly to the crime scene. In a procedural step aimed at bolstering the case, the accused was promptly escorted to the isolated spot where the assault allegedly took place. There, under tight security and with the five other detained individuals present, police orchestrated a detailed reconstruction of the incident. The exercise, captured on video for evidentiary purposes, sought to test the veracity of each suspect's narrative against the victim's harrowing testimony.
This latest apprehension comes on the heels of the roundup of five other men earlier in the week, whose presence at the location on the night in question was corroborated through mobile phone data and witness statements. The group includes a former security guard at the college, a hospital employee, a temporary civic worker, and an unemployed local, all of whom have been remanded to police custody for further interrogation. Notably, investigators have preliminarily determined that the physical assault was perpetrated by a single individual, though the complicity of the others in facilitating or abetting the crime remains a focal point of the ongoing inquiry.
