Key Points

Reacting to the scathing political attacks from the BJP over the Durgapur rape incident, West Bengal Women and Child Welfare Department Minister Shashi Panja said that even in Odisha, the rape of a college student took place recently where the BJP government is in power.

"The student in Odisha had set herself on fire. So, questions should not be raised on an isolated incident. If the questions had to be raised, they should be raised on similar incidents everywhere in the country. Such incidents are unfortunate and undesirable, irrespective of where they happen," Panja added.

She claimed that the West Bengal Police had started an investigation immediately after the matter was reported.

"The victim's parents have already reached Durgapur (West Bengal) from Odisha. They have expressed faith in the investigation by the state police. The BJP is unnecessarily politicising the issue. Politics on sexual assault against women is never desirable," Panja said.

Reacting to Shashi Panja's statement over the rape of a woman in West Bengal, BJP legislator Agnimitra Paul said that whether it is the rape and murder case in Kolkata's R.G Kar Medical College and Hospital in August last year or the recent rape incident in Durgapur, the crimes against women doctors has become rampant in the state.

"The rapists know very well that the leaders of the ruling Trinamool Congress are there to protect them. The law and order in West Bengal has totally collapsed. No woman in West Bengal is safe now," Paul added.

Earlier on Saturday, Leader of Opposition (LoP) Suvendu Adhikari said that West Bengal should follow Uttar Pradesh's model of taking decisive measures in awarding punishment to the guilty accused of rape.

"The accused should not be kept in custody for long. They should be eliminated at the earliest. Encounters should be conducted only after the arrest of the accused over serious criminal charges like rape," LoP Adhikari added.

- IANS