Durgapur gang rape: After initial criticism, victim’s father apologies to ‘mother-like’ Mamata

Kolkata, Oct 15 (PTI) Two days after claiming that West Bengal is under "Aurangzeb's rule", the father of the Durgapur gang rape victim on Wednesday described Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee as a "mother-like figure" and urged her to forgive him if he had said anything wrong against her.

He also appealed to Banerjee to help his daughter, who hails from Odisha, get justice.

"Mamata Banerjee is like a mother-like figure to me. If I have said anything wrong, I ask her to forgive me. I will render countless obeisance at her feet. But I ask her to help my daughter get justice," he told television channels on Wednesday.

The father of the MBBS student on Monday criticised Banerjee's remarks that "women should not venture out at night", saying that he no longer felt safe in West Bengal.

"It seems Bengal is under the rule of Aurangzeb. I want to take my daughter back to Odisha. Her life comes first, career later," he had said.

On Wednesday, the father said he would take his daughter back home once she is declared fit by the treating doctors.

"I have been demanding a CBI probe into this case. I think that would be good. But that depends on the state administration as well," he said.

The second-year MBBS student was allegedly gang-raped when she had gone out of the private medical college campus with a male friend to fetch food on the evening of October 10.

Police have so far arrested six people, including the friend, for their alleged involvement in the crime, which has sparked a huge political uproar in the state. PTI SCH NN