Court rejects defence petitions in Durgapur rape case
The Statesman | 5 November 2025
The Special Additional District Judge’s Court hearing the Durgapur medical student’s alleged gang-rape case could not record the charges today after the defence put forward a time prayer for preparation of discharge petition for the accused boyfriend of the victim girl.
ADJ (Special) Lokesh Pathak, meanwhile, asked two other accused in the case, Riazuddin Sheikh and Safikul Sheikh, to appear separately at his office chamber between 4.25 p.m. and 4.40 p.m. for recording their statements. These two youths had submitted a petition to become approvers in the case.
The defence lawyer submitted a prayer seeking time for preparation of a discharge petition for Wasif Ali, the boyfriend. Judge Pathak then slated the case for framing of charges on 10 November. Special Public Prosecutor Bivas Chatterjee, however, claimed: “When the State is keen for speedy trial of the case, it’s the defence that is posing a hurdle. The charges couldn’t be framed for their non-cooperation.”
He added: “Today, the court dismissed two earlier petitions submitted by the Defence counsel yesterday on why the charge-sheet was filed within 20 days, and the other on CCTV footage.” The tapes have “already been provided to the defence and such a petition was useless,” he added. The senior Defence Counsel Sekhar Kundu, appearing on behalf of Wasif Ali, was not present in the court today.