Kolkata Police on Sunday constituted a nine-member Special Investigation Team (SIT) to probe the alleged rape of a young woman by a student of the Indian Institute of Management (IIM) Calcutta at a hostel on Joka campus.
The SIT is being led by an ACP-ranked officer.
Meanwhile, police have asked the IIM-C management to submit all the CCTV footage of the campus after a CCTV clip collected from the Transport Department shows the woman entering the campus on Friday.
“We have sought the CCTV footage from IIM-C so that the movement of the woman and the accused inside the hostel can be tracked,” a senior police officer involved in the probe.
Police have also sought detailed information from the IIM-C management regarding security protocols on the campus, procedures followed during the entry of any visitors, what information and details visitors need to provide while making entry, among others.
Police have arrested a second-year student of the IIM-C, Parmanand Toppaunwar, 26, and booked him for rape. Four others were also questioned. Toppaunwar has been sent to police custody till July 19.
The woman has alleged that Toppaunwar called her to the Joka campus on Friday for a “counselling session” since she was a psychologist and the two had met on social media. In her complaint, she alleged that she was offered lunch and water when he took her to a hostel room on the pretext of “some work”. She alleged the food was spiked as she lost consciousness on consuming the food and was raped.
Probe, so far
Sources in the police said the investigators have recorded the statement of the pizza delivery boy and have also seized the pizza bill from the delivery boy.
“Since the arrested accused had met the woman on social media, we are examining the social media account. We will be going through the phone of the accused to see if any photographs or videos of the woman were taken or circulated by the accused to blackmail her,” a senior police officer said.
Police have also summoned the family of Toppaunwar, who hails from Karnataka.
“The woman, a psychologist, has alleged that she was called by the accused for counselling. Thus, it is important to know if the accused has any prior history of mental illness,” said the officer.
Sources said that no prescription or medicine have been found from the hostel room of the accused suggesting that he had any mental illness.
Police are also planning to reconstruct the crime scene at the hostel.
The hostel room where the alleged incident took place has been sealed and the forensic team have already visited the place.
In the meantime, the IIM-C has told the Investigating Officer (IO) that no police personnel would be allowed to gain access to any student’s hostel room without the consent of the security guards. In a notice to students, the IIM-C management has told the students that in case they find police “forcing anyone to grant access”, they should immediately report the matter to the students’ council.
State women commission seeks report from police
The West Bengal Commission of Women has asked Kolkata police to submit a report on its probe into the alleged rape of a woman on IIM-C campus within 15 days.
Leena Gangopadhyay, the chairperson of the Commission, on Sunday evening reached the office of the Deputy Commissioner of the South West Division. Two members of the Commission accompanied her. “We have contacted the family of the woman. If they are comfortable, then we will speak to them and the woman,” Gangopadhyay told The Indian Express.