A college student has been arrested for the alleged rape of a former classmate in another friend’s house.
The alleged incident is said to have happened on December 21 and was reported to police on December 31. Police arrested the accused soon after.
The police said that according to the complaint, the woman, a student at a private engineering college, was forced to drink by the youth and was raped when she became unconscious. She mentioned one of her friend’s names in the complaint that she lodged with the police, an officer said.
“The police registered an FIR and rounded up the youth the same day,” the officer said.
During their investigation, the police are said to have found that the complainant and the accused were once classmates in a south Calcutta school but lost touch over the years.
Recently, their friendship was renewed through social media. The woman was invited to the house of a friend of the youth on December 21. This friend’s house was not very far from the woman’s house and she accepted the invitation without suspecting any foul play, the police said.
On December 21, the woman went to meet her former classmate at his friend’s house where she was allegedly forced to consume alcohol.
Based on her complaint, the police have arrested the man and charged him with rape. The accused was produced in court on Wednesday and remanded in police custody.
A senior police officer involved in probing the case said this was not the first time that a young woman was allegedly assaulted while meeting a friend whom she knew and trusted or while attending a party with friends.
“It is very important to take ample precaution while meeting a person alone. The safety of women is of paramount importance,” the officer said.