The BJP on Tuesday accused TMC MLA Ashok Deb of shielding the accused in the case of alleged rape of a law student at a Kolkata college. The party also alleged that the FIR was tampered with, and the police “deliberately removed” the names of those who were identified by the student.
A four-member “fact-finding” committee of the BJP to look into the alleged rape incident on Tuesday submitted its report to BJP national president JP Nadda.
Briefing mediapersons after submitting the report, senior BJP leader and former Mumbai Police Commissioner, Satyapal Singh said: “The chairman of the college’s governing body, TMC MLA Ashok Deb, is suspected of shielding the accused. A private security agency linked to the Trinamool Congress was deployed at the law college, which allegedly provided the room where the gangrape took place.”
Singh was accompanied by former Tripura chief minister Biplab Deb and Rajya Sabha MP Manan Kumar Mishra.
Mishra claimed the Kolkata Police Commissioner (Manoj Jha) was evasive in his reply when they asked him to clarify why names were erased and some letters were put in their place.
“The committee faced several obstacles in visiting the crime scene and meeting the victim. In the report, we have submitted that crimes against women in West Bengal have increased, while the police remain inactive, and the administration functions under political pressure. The committee has urged the Central government to ensure an impartial investigation and strict action, as the Mamata Banerjee government has failed to maintain law and order in the state,” he added.
Referring to a similar incident at the state’s RG Kar Medical College and Hospital – a junior doctor was raped and killed, sparking nationwide outrage — Singh said if a law student becomes the victim of gang rape, it was an “extremely grave and shameful matter.”
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“There can be no greater audacity than this. This is the state led by a woman chief minister, but it has come to light that crimes and atrocities against women are increasing rapidly. Several such cases have emerged where FIRs of the victimised women are not even registered. Those who try to file complaints are not heard; they are turned away from police stations,” he alleged.
“And even if an FIR is registered, the police do not investigate the matter sincerely. Several such cases have come to light in which the victims did not receive justice…in nearly 34–35 years of active police service, I have never seen a case like this,” he added.
Former Union minister Meenakshi Lekhi is also a member of the ‘fact-finding’ panel.
