As West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee questioned why the MBBS student, who was allegedly gangraped Friday in Paschim Bardhaman district, was out of the campus “after midnight”, triggering a row, the timeline of the incident points otherwise. The medical report of the student, who hails from Odisha, points to the sexual assault taking place between 8.30 pm and 9 pm on Friday. The victim is yet to record her statement. “Sexual assault around 8.30 to 9 pm of October 10, 2025,” reads the preliminary medical report of the student, who is currently admitted to a hospital. The report also stated that there were no visible injury marks on her limbs, face, neck, and back. The father of the student has also said that she was assaulted much before midnight. Reacting to CM’s remark, the father said that he received the call from his daughter’s friend, informing him about the rape, at 10.15 pm on Friday. “How can the chief minister say what my daughter was doing at 12.30 midnight inside a jungle when I was called and informed about the rape at 10.15 pm. Imagine how I felt hearing this (CM’s remark),” the woman’s father told The Indian Express over the phone Monday. On Sunday, before heading to north Bengal, the CM had said: “How did she (the student) come out (of hostel) at 12.30 am? As far as I know, it happened in the jungle. I appeal to students who come from other states to not step out at night.” “After her friend called me at 10-10.15 pm and informed me about the rape, we immediately left for West Bengal. After reaching here, I found out they (college authorities and the local administration) had done nothing. I then filed a complaint,” the father said. The police also said the student’s family has consistently placed the timing of the incident between 8 pm and 9.30 pm Friday, and not after midnight. The complaint, filed by the student’s father Saturday, has also laid out a sequence of events, which has been corroborated by the college records. According to the medical college, the student and her male friend left the campus gate at 7.58 pm. “One of them returned alone by 8.42 pm and left at about 8.48 pm. The two then returned together at 9.29 pm, and the woman student proceeded towards the girls’ hostel at 9.31 pm,” the college said in a media release. “The institution stands by the affected student and her companion. We extend to them our full support and are resolved to pursue justice with utmost diligence,” it added. According to the complaint, the MBBS student was allegedly dragged into a forested area outside her college campus and raped Friday night by three to four men after she had gone out with a friend. According to her family, the men took away her mobile phone and demanded Rs 5,000. In the complaint, the father has also raised suspicion over the male friend’s role, alleging that he “misled her” to a vacant place after going out of the campus. Sources in the police said that they are questioning the woman’s friend. “It is too early to confirm the exact timing of the incident. We are thoroughly investigating,” said a senior police officer.
