KOLKATA: A day after West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee faced condemnation for advising female students to not venture out at night, senior TMC leader Saugata Roy on Monday said that women should exercise caution, as the police cannot be everywhere at once.
Roy claimed that women's safety in the state is better compared to other regions.
"Such cases are rare in Bengal. Women's safety in Bengal is better than in any other place. But women shouldn't leave their colleges so late at night, as the police can't patrol everywhere. Police cannot be present on every road; police can take action after an incident occurs. So, women should also be cautious," Roy told reporters in Kolkata.
"Whatever the chief minister has said is absolutely correct," he said.
His comments came after a 23-year-old second-year MBBS student of a private medical college was allegedly gang-raped near her campus on the night of October 10.
According to police reports, the survivor, a native of Odisha, was returning from dinner with a friend when three men accosted her near Shobhapur in the industrial township.
The accused allegedly snatched her phone, dragged her into a wooded area, and raped her before demanding money to return her belongings.
The West Bengal Police on Monday arrested two more persons in connection with the case, taking the total number of arrests to five. Three accused were taken into custody on October 12.