‘Media distorted my words’: West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee on Durgapur gangrape remark

ALIPURDUAR (West Bengal): Following the criticism over the remark of Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee over the alleged gangrape of a medical student in West Bengal’s Durgapur, CM Banerjee on Sunday claimed that the media “distorted” her words.

“The media distorted my words. You ask me a question, I answer it, and then you distort it. Do not try this kind of politics”, CM Banerjee said in Alipurduar.

CM Mamata Banerjee made a shocking statement on Sunday as she advised colleges not to allow girls to go outside at night after the alleged gangrape of a second-year private medical student in Durgapur. The survivor is from Jaleswar, Odisha.

“Girls should not be allowed to go outside at night.”

Yes, you heard that right. This statement is not made by an ordinary citizen, but by the Woman Chief Minister of West Bengal, Mamata Banerjee.
This is not the first time she has blamed the victim in cases of sexual assault… pic.twitter.com/Pi0iz5QqNT

— BJP West Bengal (@BJP4Bengal) October 12, 2025

“I’m shocked to see the incident, but private medical colleges also should take care of their students, and especially girls. The girls should not be allowed to go outside (college) at night. They have to protect themselves also. There is a forest area. Police are searching all the people”, Mamata Banerjee said.

The remarks sparked a huge backlash, with BJP workers staging a protest against the state government over the Durgapur rape case in North 24 Parganas on Sunday.

Union Minister Sukanta Majumdar said that the Trinamool Congress leadership were repeatedly making such statements on women and asked if the Chief Minister wanted all women to wear burqas and stay at home.

Majumdar said, “Earlier, when the RG Kar Medical College incident occurred, a notification was issued that private companies should give fewer night shifts to women. Now the Chief Minister is saying that women should not go out at night. Does she want all women to wear burqas and stay at home?”

Meanwhile, three accused have been arrested in the alleged gangrape case of a medical student in West Bengal’s Durgapur. They were presented before the court on Sunday.

Speaking to reporters, Asansol Durgapur Police Commissionerate DCP Abhishek Gupta said, “Three persons have been arrested so far. They have been forwarded to the Court today. Further investigation is ongoing, and everything is going according to the protocol. All investigation is taking place…”

According to the medical student’s father, she stepped out with a classmate to get something to eat. However, two or three other men arrived and raped her. The classmate, he said, “abandoned her and fled”.

“At 10 pm, her friend called us and said that your daughter had been raped. We live in Jaleshwar. My daughter was studying here. Yesterday, one of her classmates took her out on the pretext of getting something to eat, but when two or three other men arrived, he abandoned her and fled. They raped her. This incident occurred between 8 and 9 pm. The hostel was far away, and she had come here to eat. The security arrangements are not sufficient. Such a serious incident occurred, but no action has been taken. There is no system here, no response…” the student’s father told reporters. (ANI)