KOLKATA: A nine-member Special Investigation Team (SIT) was formed by the Kolkata Police on Saturday to investigate the alleged incident of rape by a second-year student of the Indian Institute of Management-Calcutta (IIM-C) on its campus. The West Bengal Commission for Women (WBCW) has also taken suo motu cognisance of the incident.
Meanwhile the victim has refused to undergo a medical test even after 48-hours of the incident, police sources said.
WBCW Chairperson Leena Gangopadhyay said that they had filed a suo motu case on Friday in connection with the IIM-C incident. “We are trying to talk to the victim and her family. We are also in touch with Haridevpur police station. Such incidents should not happen anywhere. If there is no punishment, people probably do not understand what is happening,” she said.
Although the WBCW has filed a suo motu case, National Commission for Women (NCW) member Archana Majumdar has expressed doubts about the incident. Expressing concern regarding the allegations of rape at IIM-C, she claimed that the information received so far suggests the allegations pertain to sexual harassment rather than rape. The NCW also wishes to speak with the victim to determine what actually occurred, she added.
Meanwhile, the SIT constituted to investigate the matter is led by an Assistant Commissioner from the South West Division of the Kolkata Police.
According to sources, the survivor, a young psychologist, was seen entering the campus on Friday, as captured by a CCTV camera installed on the road. Police have sought footage from all CCTV cameras on the IIM-C campus as part of the investigation.
Efforts are also being made to determine where the young woman went on the campus that day and who accompanied her. The room in the Lake View Hostel where the rape allegedly occurred has already been sealed by the police. Forensic experts have collected samples from the scene, including food remains and other items, for laboratory examination. The clothes of the accused have been confiscated. A medico-legal examination of the arrested person will also be conducted.
The alleged incident took place inside the boys’ hostel of IIM-C on Friday. Based on the survivor’s complaint, the accused, Paramananda Toppaunawar, a second-year student of IIM-C, was arrested on Saturday. The Alipore Court has remanded him to police custody until 19 July.
However, the victim’s father later claimed that his daughter was neither raped nor tortured. When asked by the media on Saturday whether he had spoken to his daughter, he replied, “Yes, I spoke. She said, no one tortured me, no one mistreated me.”
Responding to further questions from the media, he also said: “I received a call from my daughter around 9.40 p.m. on Friday. She told me she had fallen from an auto, lost consciousness and suffered injuries. Later, I came to know she was admitted to SSKM Hospital. Nothing of the sort that the police are claiming happened, based on the details I received from my daughter.”
He also alleged that police had made her write the complaint.
Meanwhile, the IIM-C authorities on Sunday said that it is actively engaging with students and taking necessary steps to address their concerns in the wake of the alleged incident on its campus.
