Police revisit Durgapur gang-rape crime scene, expand cordoned-off area

Kolkata, Oct 16 (IANS) Police on Thursday further expanded the cordoned off area of the gang-rape crime scene in West Bengal's Durgapur as part of its investigation into the matter.

The original crime scene, in a forested area outside the private medical college and hospital, was cordoned off earlier. Now, an additional 50 metres has been added next to the previously cordoned off area. This raised questions about whether anything new has come out of the investigation.

On Thursday morning, the police again went to the crime scene with the gang-rape victim's arrested male friend, Wasif Ali. According to the investigators, he was subsequently arrested because of various inconsistencies in his statements.

The statements of the other five arrested accused and the victim are being compared repeatedly with the statements of the male friend. Therefore, Ali was taken to the crime scene again and interrogated.

Sources said that the investigators are trying to get a thorough account of the incident. In order to do so, the original crime scene was expanded a little more. The forensic team also went to the scene again for investigative purposes.

The second-year medical student from Odisha was gang-raped by five persons in a forest area outside the private medical college and hospital in West Burdwan district on October 10.

Based on the complaint lodged by the victim, the police earlier arrested all five accused persons in the case. They are currently in police custody. Later, the police arrested her male friend, with whom she had gone out of the campus on that night.

The victim's father, meanwhile, demanded a Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) probe into the incident to punish the culprits quickly. He also said that they will leave for Odisha soon and never come back to Bengal again.

--IANS

sch/vd