Indian state leader says girls should not go out at night after alleged rape of student

A prominent regional leader is facing backlash for asking female students to not venture out at night after a medical student was allegedly raped in eastern India.

The student was allegedly gangraped on Friday outside her college in Durgapur, 170km from the state capital of Kolkata in West Bengal.

The student from neighbouring Odisha state was out with a friend when she was attacked by unidentified men.

Police launched an investigation and arrested four men allegedly involved in the crime.

Speaking about the incident on Sunday, chief minister Mamata Banerjee sparked a row by saying girls should not be “allowed to go outside at night”. “Especially girl children at night time,” Ms Banerjee told reporters, “they should not be allowed to come outside.”

"They have to protect themselves also. There’s a forest area," she added. “Police are searching all the people. Nobody will be excused. Whoever is guilty will be punished strictly.”

Ms Banerjee stressed that private medical colleges must take responsibility for their students, noting that it was not possible for police to monitor every household.

“If someone chooses to go out at 12.30am they have the right to do so, anyone can go anywhere,” she added. “But for those staying in hostels, there is a system in place that must be followed.”

While West Bengal had “zero tolerance” for such crimes, the chief minister said she was appealing to the boys and girls studying in the state “not to venture out at night”.

“This is because the police are not aware who is coming out when,” she added.

Ms Banerjee told reporters that the incident took place at around 12.30am whereas a police complaint filed by the survivor’s father stated the student was assaulted a little after 9.30pm.

The father said his daughter’s friend had taken her near the college gate to eat a street snack when two or three more people arrived.

“Seeing this, the friend fled, leaving the girl alone. She was raped after this," he told reporters.

Ms Banerjee's comments triggered a political slugfest in the state, with opposition parties taking to the streets in protest.

Samik Bhattacharya, state president of prime minister Narendra Modi’s BJP, said that Ms Banerjee’s remarks proved the state government “has no accountability regarding women’s safety”.

Odisha chief minister Mohan Charan Majhi urged Ms Banerjee to take swift action against the perpetrators.

This is not the first instance of women in West Bengal being advised to avoid going out at night following an incident of sexual assault.

Last year, in the wake of the rape and murder of a doctor at a public hospital, the state government issued guidelines recommending that night duty be minimised for female staff. The directive was withdrawn after the intervention of the Supreme Court.

In the past, Ms Banerjee has even been accused of shaming victims of sexual assault. In 2012, a year after first taking office, she dismissed an incident of rape in Kolkata city as a “concocted story”.

The same year, she dismissed allegations of rape made by a woman claiming they were “planned” by the opposition Communist Party of India. “Nothing has been found in the medical evidence,” she said.

The woman, 29, had alleged that she was raped by the tracks after being dragged off a train near the Katwa station.