Mamata terms Durgapur 'gang rape' shocking, says no accused will be spared

Kolkata, Oct 12 (PTI) West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Sunday termed the gang rape of a medical student in Durgapur in Paschim Bardhaman district as "shocking", and said that no accused would be spared.

Speaking to reporters at Kolkata airport before leaving for natural disaster-hit north Bengal to oversee relief and rehabilitation work, Banerjee said her government has zero tolerance for such incidents.

"This is a shocking incident... We have zero tolerance for such crimes. Three accused have been arrested and police are conducting search for others. Nobody will be spared," she said in her first reaction to the incident.

The medical college student, hailing from Jaleswar in Odisha's Balasore district, was allegedly raped by some men in Durgapur, police said on Saturday.

The incident took place outside the campus of the private medical college on Friday night when the second-year student went out with one of her friends for dinner.

Banerjee said that the institution of which the woman is a student of also bears responsibility for the incident.

"Private colleges must ensure security within and around their campuses," she said. PTI BSM ACD