The Opposition hit out at the chief minister, accusing her of trying to blame the student and shift the responsibility to the private medical college.

Speaking to mediapersons outside the Kolkata airport before leaving for flood-hit north Bengal, the chief minister, when asked to comment on the rape incident, said: “It is a shocking incident. The girl was studying in a private medical college. Whose responsibility is it? How did she (the medical student) come out (of the hostel) at 12.30 am? As far as I know, it happened in the jungle. I don’t know what happened at 12.30 am. The investigation is going on. I am shocked.”

“Private medical institutions should be careful. They must take care of their students. Especially, when it is a girl child, they should not be allowed to go out at night.”

“I appeal to students who come from other states not to step out at night. See, it is everyone’s right to go out, when and wherever they want to, but it is also a fact that police cannot go and sit at everyone’s house. They should protect themselves too, especially in forest areas,” the TMC chief added.

The second-year MBBS student hails from Odisha. She had gone out of the campus with a friend when four to five men dragged her to a secluded area and allegedly raped her.

Asserting that her government has a “zero tolerance policy” towards crime, the chief minister said all those guilty of the gangrape will be “severely punished”, adding that police have so far arrested three persons in connection with the Friday night’s incident.

“Three persons have already been arrested based on the girl’s statement. We will take strict action… No one will be spared. Whoever is guilty will be severely punished,” she said.

Questioning the status of rape cases in other states, Mamata Banerjee said, “Three weeks ago, three girls were raped on a beach in Odisha. What has the Odisha government done? If something happens to women in Bengal, we don’t take it lightly. It’s a serious incident.”
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“The incidents in other states are equally condemnable. Many incidents have taken place in Manipur, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, and Odisha… They are happening every day. In UP, victims are set on fire while going to court… The governments there should also take strict action. We have zero tolerance here… In our state, chargesheets are filed in one or two months. The lower court has even given death sentences in such cases,” she said.

The chief minister’s remarks drew immediate and sharp condemnation from the Opposition, saying her statement was “an admission of lawlessness in the state”.

State BJP chief Samik Bhattacharya, “The CM’s statement is testimony to lawlessness in the state. She has no right to remain in the CM’s post.”

CPI (M) leader Sujan Chakraborty slammed the chief minister of trying to shift the responsibility to the college. “During the RG Kar rape incident, she (Mamata Banerjee) had said that girls should not do night duty. Now, she is saying they should not step out at night. The situation in Bengal today has proved that the state is not safe for women. She said the private college should take responsibility, but it is responsible only for the things inside the campus. A forest area, a PWD land cannot be secured by a private college,” the CPI(M) leader said.
Noting that Mamata Banerjee holds the portfolio of Home Department, Union minister and BJP MP Sukanta Majumdar called her remark “utterly deplorable and shameful”.

“The chief minister cannot possibly evade responsibility for the absolute collapse of law and order. Shockingly, even now, she has chosen to shift the blame onto the private medical college! This, despite the fact that just a few months ago, a young woman doctor was brutally raped and murdered inside a government medical college hospital. As chief minister, Mamata Banerjee’s pronouncement is not merely an insult to every woman in Bengal but also a matter of grave concern. A comment of this nature from a woman chief minister once again exposes that law and order have completely slipped out of the government’s control. It is now Mamata Banerjee’s moral duty to step down without any further delay,” Majumdar posted on X.

Amid the outrage over her remarks, the chief minister, on reaching Bagdogra, said that her statement was “distorted”.

” My address at Dum Dum airport has been deliberately distorted. You ask me a question, and when I answer, my words are twisted and taken out of context. Do not try this nasty politics with me. Unlike others, I have the decency to meet you and speak directly. Others merely respond to pre-decided questions,” she told the waiting mediapersons.