Bibhas Chatterjee to be special public prosecutor in Durgapur rape case

Bibhas Chatterjee met with police officers from the Asansol-Durgapur police commissionerate for more than three hours on Thursday to discuss the case

KOLKATA: The West Bengal government has engaged special public prosecutor Bibhas Chatterjee to lead the prosecution of the accused for the gang rape of a 23-year-old medical student in a forested area near her college in West Bengal’s Durgapur on October 10.

West Bengal Police personnel during reconstruction of the crime scene as part of the ongoing probe into the medical student rape case in Durgapur (PTI FILE PHOTO)

Chatterjee met with police officers from the Asansol-Durgapur police commissionerate for more than three hours on Thursday to discuss the case.

“How fast the prosecution can file the chargesheet depends on the investigators. I will help them with all my resources,” Chatterjee, who is known for using scientific evidence to ensure the conviction of the accused in multiple rape and murder cases in recent years, told HT.

Six people, including the rape survivor’s classmate, have been arrested for the offence. The classmate was arrested on October 14, hours after a magistrate recorded the woman’s statement.

Five local villagers were arrested earlier in connection with the rape.

The woman, a resident of Jaleshwar in Odisha, is admitted at the private IQ City Medical College Hospital where she is a student.

The classmate, a resident of Kaliachak in Bengal’s Malda district, had accompanied her to dinner outside the campus when the incident took place.

The incident happened between 8 pm and 9.30 pm on October 10 when she went out with her classmate to have dinner. Police said security cameras at the institution spotted the survivor’s classmate returning to the campus alone at 8.42 pm, leaving again at 8.48 pm, and the two returning together at 9.29 pm.