Kolkata: A second-year medical student from Odisha was allegedly gang-raped near a private medical college in Durgapur, West Bengal’s West Burdwan district, on Friday night, police confirmed.

According to officials, a case has been registered against multiple suspects, though no arrests have been made so far.

Police said the victim, a resident of Jaleswar in Odisha, had stepped out of the college campus around 8.30 p.m. with a classmate for dinner when they were confronted by a group of men.

“It is alleged that miscreants started harassing them at that time. They also chased their friend, who ran away in fear. Finding the girl alone, the miscreants dragged her to a nearby forest where the crime was committed,” a senior officer of the Asansol-Durgapur Police Commissionerate said.

The student’s mobile phone was reportedly taken away by the accused after the assault. She is currently undergoing treatment at a hospital

The college authorities have lodged a formal complaint, and police officers from the New Township Police Station have begun an investigation. However, the identities of the suspects remain unknown.

The survivor’s family, who arrived from Odisha, expressed anguish over the incident. “My daughter is not safe here. I will not let her continue her education here anymore. I will take her home,” her parents told the media.

The incident has sparked local outrage, with the BJP staging protests and alleging attempts to suppress details, similar to the controversy surrounding the RG Kar Medical College rape and murder case.

National Commission for Women (NCW) member Archana Majumdar condemned the incident, linking it to a broader pattern of delayed justice in the state.

“Incidents of sexual assault and rape are increasing because the culprits are not being caught and punished promptly. We have not seen any rapist or murderer receive the ultimate punishment in West Bengal. No one has been hanged. Despite continuous protests, justice is being delayed, and no culprits are being punished as they should be, possibly due to some invisible influence,” she said.

The reference to the RG Kar case comes amid continued anger over the August 9 incident last year, when the body of a postgraduate trainee was found in the seminar hall of RG Kar Medical College and Hospital. The case triggered nationwide protests, and while the lone accused, Sanjoy Roy, was sentenced to life imprisonment, the CBI’s probe into the alleged “larger conspiracy” remains pending even after a year.