'If a friend rapes friend, how can that be corruption?': TMC MP's disgraceful remark on Kolkata rape case

Senior Trinamool Congress MP Kalyan Banerjee made a disgraceful remark on the rape case at the South Calcutta Law College. Banerjee was responding to queries about the case in which a 24-year-old student was gang-raped. "What can be done if a friend rapes his friend. Will the police be in schools? This was done by students to another student. Who will protect her (victim)?" Banerjee asked. He added, "Who does all this criminality and molestation? Some men do it. So, who should women fight against? Women should fight against these perverted men." His remarks have drawn extreme criticism from many, including the opposition BJP in West Bengal.

The Sreerampur MP was accused of deflecting institutional accountability in the case. The MP refused the claims that the accused men had any relation with the Trinamool Congress's student wing. He said that the crime was not confined to any party or organisation.

"I am saying the same thing again and again. Whoever has done it must be arrested immediately. But if a friend rapes a friend, how can that be corruption?" Banerjee asked. "The condition of safety and security is the same everywhere. As long as the mindset of men remains this way, these incidents will keep occurring. You (reporter) have a political agenda, that's why you have brought this mic to ask your question," he added

What are the allegations by the survivor

The TMC MP's comment came amid the investigation into the gang-rape case of a first-year law student inside the South Calcutta Law College premises on Wednesday (June 25). According to the rape survivor's complaint, three men: Monojit Mishra (31), Zaib Ahmed (19) and Pramit Mukhopadhyay (20), lured her into a guard's room next to the student union office. She accused them of locking her in the room and sexually assaulting her. She accused in her complaint that they hit her in the head with a hockey stick, and she had a panic attack. She begged for an inhaler, but they did not listen to her. They also threatened her that they would kill her if she spoke out about them. Her medical examination report confirmed that she was physically assaulted and her body had bite marks, scratches, and evidence of forced penetration.

The RG Kar rape case

The horrifying case came just a a year after the RG Medical College rape case where a student was brutally raped and murdered. And the BJP, pointing out the main accused - Manojit Mishra - is linked to the Trinamool's youth wing, has added fuel to the fire. As in the RG Kar case, the BJP also said the Trinamool is "protecting" him.