KOLKATA: A second-year student of the Indian Institute of Management Calcutta (IIM-C) has been arrested in connection with an alleged rape incident on campus, following a complaint filed by a young woman who is not a student of the institution. However, the case took a surprising turn on Saturday after the woman’s father said that his daughter was neither raped nor assaulted.
According to the police complaint, the woman said she came in contact with the accused through social media and was invited to the IIM-C boys’ hostel under the pretext of a counselling session for admission. She said that when she arrived at the hostel, she was not allowed to sign the visitor’s register. Once inside, she was offered pizza and water. After consuming them, she lost consciousness. When she regained consciousness, she found herself inside the hostel and said she had been raped while unconscious. She also stated that she was physically assaulted when she resisted.
Initially, the woman approached Thakurpukur police station in south Kolkata to lodge a complaint. As the IIM-C campus falls under the jurisdiction of the Haridevpur police station, she was assisted by officials in transferring the complaint there. Following this, police visited the location, collected evidence, and arrested the accused student.
IIM-C Director-in-Charge Saibal Chattopadhyay told TNIE that the institute was aware of the matter but refrained from commenting.
“The incident is being investigated by the police. I can’t comment on anything right now,” he said.
Later on Saturday, the woman’s father contradicted the allegations made in the complaint, telling reporters, “My daughter was neither raped, nor tortured.” Asked whether he had spoken to his daughter, he said, “Yes, I spoke. She said: ‘No one tortured me, no one mistreated me.’” When questioned about the arrest of the IIM-C student, the father added, “I don’t know anymore.”
Asked what the family wants now, he replied, “What else can we ask for? We got our daughter back. My daughter is normal.”
This incident comes weeks after another serious allegation of sexual assault at South Calcutta Law College, where a student was allegedly gang-raped on campus. That case, which occurred on June 25 and came to light two days later, led to the arrest of three students and a college security guard.