Durgapur gang-rape case: All 6 accused to be produced in court today

Kolkata, Oct 22 (IANS) All six accused in the Durgapur gang-rape case will be produced before a court on Wednesday, with the police likely to seek an extension of their custody for further investigations in the case.

According to the police, the arrested male friend of the victim, Wasif Ali, will be produced before the court along with the other accused in the case.

Sources said there are discrepancies in statements provided by the accused persons, including the male friend of the victim, which posed challenges before investigators in conducting the probe. Therefore, there is a need to extend the custody of the accused to fill the gaps in the investigation process, sources said.

On Tuesday, the statements of two of the six accused in connection with the rape case of the second-year medical student were recorded before the judicial magistrate at a court.

Insiders from the Asansol-Durgapur Police Commissionerate said the statements of two were recorded under Section 183 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS) 2023, which allows a judicial magistrate to record confessions and statements from an accused person or witness during an investigation.

After the statements were recorded in front of the judicial magistrate on Tuesday, the two accused persons were sent back to custody. Now, with the statements of two of the six accused persons being recorded in front of the judicial magistrate, there is a possibility that the two might turn approvers in the case.

During the six-day questioning, the police have found discrepancies in the statements of the Durgapur gang-rape victim's male friend and five arrested youths from the local village. The police are trying to find some missing links in this gang-rape case, officials said.

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 complaint lodged by the victim, the police earlier arrested all five accused persons in the case. The police said that only one person was involved in the physical sexual assault of the medical student. Later, the police arrested the male friend of the victim. The male friend was arrested after investigators found inconsistencies in his response during interrogation. He is also currently in police custody.

The victim's father, meanwhile, has demanded a Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) probe into the incident to punish the culprits quickly.

--IANS

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