Durgapur gang-rape: TI parade report submitted; custody of accused extended till Oct 31

Kolkata, Oct 27 The Test Identification (TI) parade report of the Durgapur gang-rape victim was read out in the Durgapur Sub-divisional Court on Monday, revealing that Sheikh Firdous had raped the second-year medical student on October 10.

However, the victim's lawyer claimed that besides Firdous, five people -- including the victim's boyfriend and classmate -- were also involved in the gang-rape incident in some way or the other.

After the end of the five-day judicial custody period, all six accused were virtually presented in the Durgapur Sub-divisional Court from the correctional facility.

During the hearing, the police submitted the TI parade report to the court. The victim's lawyer applied to open the TI parade report, and the judge granted the application.

The victim's lawyer, Partha Ghosh, told the media: “Sheikh Firdous is the main accused in this rape case. He is the one who raped the student. The other five also are involved in this rape case in some way or the other. Therefore, along with Sheikh Firdous, all will be punished equally according to the relevant sections of law.”

At the same time, the lawyer said that the victim's classmate is the “main conspirator or mastermind” of the gang-rape incident.

Since the accused classmate had already been identified, he was not put through the TI parade. However, the lawyer asserted that when the charge sheet is filed and the trial begins, the classmate’s name will also be included along with the other five accused.

It is worth mentioning that there was no lawyer representing the accused during the virtual hearing. They themselves requested the judge to grant them bail.

However, considering the depth and seriousness of the crime, the judge rejected the bail applications of the accused. In addition, the court ordered their judicial custody till October 31.

According to the victim's lawyer, the judge stressed the urgent submission of the charge sheet and the speedy start of the trial process. “If the police submit the charge sheet before the next hearing on October 31, the trial process will begin very quickly. Before that, a copy of the charge sheet will be given to all parties involved in the case. Then, the trial phase will begin after framing the charges,” said the lawyer.

On October 10, the second-year medical student from Odisha was allegedly gang-raped by five persons in a forested area outside a private medical college and hospital in West Burdwan district’s Durgapur.

Based on the victim’s complaint, police earlier arrested all five accused persons in the case. Police said that only one person was involved in the physical sexual assault of the medical student. Later, police also arrested the classmate-cum-boyfriend of the victim, with whom she had gone out that evening, after investigators found inconsistencies in his statements during interrogation.

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