Metro creates a timeline of the Park Street rape case - the trauma of a woman assaulted, the tirade of a chief minister cornered, the transfer of an IPS officer who had dared to question the slur of sajano ghatana and a three-year wait for justice that culminated in a verdict the victim didn't live to see.

Feb. 5, 2012: A woman is raped inside a moving car moments after hopping in with five men who she said had befriended her in a Park Street nightclub.

Feb. 8: The woman lodges a complaint with Park Street police station.

Feb. 9-15: The complainant gives the police three names who she said had befriended, assaulted and raped her in the car. A preliminary probe reveals that none of the three named was at the Park Street address where she had got into the car. One of the men is based in Canada and mobile tower locations show the other two were nowhere near Park Street on February 5.

Feb. 16: Mamata Banerjee terms the rape complaint a "sajano ghatana (concocted incident)" even before police complete the investigation.

" Ghatana ta sajano hoechhey government ke malign korar jonye. Todonte shob berobe. Aar ja janar police-er theke jeney nin (The incident has been concocted with the motive of maligning the government. Everything will be revealed in the course of the investigation. The police will answer your remaining questions)," she says.

The then joint commissioner of police (crime) Damayanti Sen stands up for the complainant. "It is apparent that something happened that night, although the evidence suggests prima facie that the persons who have been accused of the crime are not involved," she says.

The then police commissioner, R.K. Pachnanda, tells reporters: "It is incorrect to spread misinformation and criticise the government and the police."

Feb. 17: In an interview to ABP Ananda, the woman stands by what she had said before. She contends that if someone impersonates another person, it is for the police to find the truth.

Feb. 18: Case of impersonation is cracked. Two youths - Sumit Bajaj, 21, Nishad Khan alias Ruman Khan alias Tussi, 25 - are arrested. A third accused, 28-year-old Naser Khan, is arrested too after a brief period of detention. Investigators identify the prime accused as Kadir Khan. He and the fifth accused, Johnny, are still on the run.

Police say the youths had faked their identities while getting introduced to the woman, which explains why the three names she had given investigators turned out to be persons who had nothing to do with the crime.

Another regular at the Park Street address provides the police leads that would be crucial to cracking the case.

Feb. 19: Sumit, Naser and Ruman are produced in court and remanded in police custody for 14 days. The police request the court to charge the trio with gang rape. They had earlier charged only one person (named by the complainant) with rape. The police also request the court to change the name of the accused in the FIR, based on confirmation that they had impersonated other people.

Feb. 20: Damayanti and the then joint commissioner (headquarters) of Calcutta Police, Jawed Shamim, meet the chief minister at Writers' Buildings. "A certain twist is being given to portray as if there is some groupism in place... and, therefore, it's necessary to clarify that Calcutta police works as a united group where no decision is taken individually. That's been the tradition.... We work united under the commissioner of police," says Shamim.

April 5: Damayanti is transferred as deputy inspector-general of police (training), seen as a punishment posting for speaking at variance with the chief minister's stand on sajano ghatana.

May 11, 2012: Police file chargesheet. The accused are charged under sections 376 (2)(g) (gang rape), 323 (voluntarily causing hurt) and 506 (criminal intimidation) of the Indian Penal Code.

Dec. 28: Trinamul MP Kakoli Ghosh Dastidar adds fuel to the sajano ghatana fire by insinuating that the complainant wasn't raped. "This isn't a rape case, it is the outcome of a misunderstanding in a professional deal between a lady and a client," she says.

The remark comes after former transport minister Madan Mitra's question: what was the woman doing on Park Street so late at night? He also points out that the woman is separated from her husband.

Jan. 29, 2013: Lawyers representing the Bengal government admit in the Supreme Court that there is overwhelming evidence against the accused in the Park Street rape case. Senior government counsel Mukul Rohtagi and his colleague Avijit Bhattacharjee tell the bench that the victim's recorded statement under Section 164 of the CrPC and the supporting evidence, including CCTV footage and the testimonies of 15 witnesses, "clearly indicate that it (rape) was a well-planned conspiracy".

Feb. 8: Damayanti is transferred to north Bengal as DIG, Darjeeling Range. She returns to Calcutta as DIG CID in August.

Mar. 13, 2015: Complainant dies of multi-organ failure caused by a brain infection.

Dec. 10: Court announces that the three arrested in custody are guilty of rape. The two accused who are on the run would face trial separately if and when they are arrested.