Two more persons were arrested on Monday in connection with the alleged gang rape of a 23-year-old medical student of IQ City Medical College and Hospital in Durgapur on the night of October 10, taking the total number of arrests to five.

Police sources said the two arrested persons were Nasiruddin Sekh, 23, a contractual employee at Durgapur Municipal Corporation, and Safik Sekh, 28, a day labourer. Like the three arrested on Saturday night, these youths are also residents of Bijra, which is close to the campus of the private medical college and hospital.

They were produced before the Durgapur court that remanded them in police custody for nine days.

Among the trio arrested earlier, Sekh Reajuddin, 31, is a former security guard engaged by an agency at the private hospital. Sources at the hospital said he lost his job because of bad conduct.

The friend of the survivor, who was with her when she was dragged by a group of youths to a nearby forest and gang-raped, is still detained by the police for questioning but is yet to be arrested.

The police said they need to interrogate him more to know his role during the incident and establish his involvement, if any, with the crime.

The authorities of the IQ City Medical College and Hospital, in a bulletin on Monday afternoon, said that the health of the gang-rape survivor was stable and “she is steadily on the path to recovery. A dedicated team of expert doctors, including a gynaecologist, have been attending to her round the clock”.

Chairperson of the Odisha State Commission for Women Sovana Mohanty (palm raised) at the IQ City Medical College and Hospital in Durgapur on Monday

Later in the evening, the hospital authorities issued a fresh media note saying they were “deeply troubled by the ongoing and unfounded agitations taking place within our campus. These disruptions have severely affected the functioning of the hospital and college causing distress to hundreds of innocent individuals....” The note was signed by Sudarshana Gangulee, a director (branding and public relations) with the IQ City Foundation.

The gang rape sparked off a series of protests by political and social organisations.

Several political parties, including the CPM and BJP, have staged protests at the hospital campus since the incident came to light on Saturday.

The BJP and SUCI launched a protest against the gang rape of the medical student. The BJP set up a dharna manch at City Centre, where Leader of the Opposition Suvendu Adhikari and other senior BJP leaders were present on Monday.

The police initially tried to dismantle the dais, and it led to a scuffle between the cops and BJP activists. Later, Adhikari addressed the protest rally from the dais and demanded the immediate resignation of chief minister Mamata Banerjee.

Suvendu blames TMC

Suvendu Adhikari claimed Nasiruddin Sekh, one of the youths arrested on Monday, was a Trinamool Congress worker and his father Maharuddin Sekh a leader of the same party.

“One of the two persons Nasiruddin arrested today is a Trinamool worker and his father is a party portfolio holder. Now it is clear that in every such crime in Bengal Trinamool Congress will be surely linked with it,” Adhikari told the media in Durgapur on Monday.

However, Trinamool leader in Durgapur, Uttam Mukherjee, said those arrested in connection with the crime had no link with the party.

“Our chief minister Mamata Banerjee has made it clear that our government has zero tolerance against such incidents. The police have promptly arrested all the criminals involved in the crime,”
he said.

Governor visit

Governor C.V. Ananda Bose on Monday visited Durgapur and met the survivor and her parents, claiming that he “lacked confidence” to say Bengal was safe for girls.

“I talked to the victim and I talked to her parents. What we discussed will remain confidential.... It (the incident) is not the first of its kind. In the recent past, we have had similar experiences, very bad experiences. These should not occur in the Bengal society.... Bengal should be made a safe place for the girl child. Now I can’t say with confidence that the Bengal is safe. We have to own responsibility and see that justice is given to the victim,” said Bose, who added that Bengal needed a “second Renaissance”.