‘Girls shouldn’t be allowed to…’: Mamata Banerjee’s SHOCKER on Durgapur gangrape sparks outrage, BJP says ‘Taliban mentality’ is…

Durgapur gangrape: West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Sunday ‘advised’ private colleges in her state not to allow girl students to step outside the institution’s premises at night, triggering outrage from the opposition BJP, who slammed the Trinamool Congress (TMC) supremo for her “Taliban mentality”.

What did Mamata Banerjee say?

“I’m shocked to see the incident, but private medical colleges also should take care of their students, and especially girls. The girls should not be allowed to go outside (college) at night. They have to protect themselves also. There is a forest area. Police are searching all the people,” Banerjee said after a second-year student was allegedly gangraped outside a private medical college in Durgapur on Friday night.

Reacting to the chief minister’s statement, BJP MLA Agnimitra Paul condemned Banerjee’s remarks, terming her comments as exhibiting a “Taliban mentality”, which is “shameful and regressive.”

“We have a Taliban government in Afghanistan and we have Mamata Banerjee’s government in West Bengal. Mamata Banerjee today is saying that this girl, the victim of the Durgapur incident, had gone out at 12 o’clock at night. Mamata Banerjee, please don’t lie. The CCTV footage shows that she went out to fetch her food at 7.58 pm or 8 pm… So please do not try to put the blame on the girl and the institution,” the BJP leader told reporters.

“What do you think? After 12 am, women shouldn’t go out? Doctors who are doing night duty in hospitals shouldn’t go out? Nurses who give us service shouldn’t go out? The IT sector shouldn’t go out and do its duty. People in the service industry shouldn’t go out. This kind of Taliban mentality is shameful,” she said.

BJP accuses TMC of ‘protecting rapists’

The BJP MLA also accused the ruling TMC government of “protecting” the rapists while cursing the victims, and asserted that the Mamata Banerjee-led dispensation will be voted out by the people of the state in the 2026 assembly elections.

“You have always been protecting the rapists and cursing the victims. Because these rapists are TMC cadres, and in the coming 2026 elections, you will use them for vote-rigging and booth-capturing, to create terror among the people of Bengal. The people of Bengal have also understood. We don’t want your Lakshmir Bhandar. We want respect. On one hand, you will give us Lakshmir Bhandar of Rs 1000, and on the other hand, you will rape us, gang-rape us and not give us justice,” she alleged, adding that women of Bengal will take a poll and will teach you a lesson. They have already decided who to vote for…”

Mamata assures ‘strong action’

Meanwhile, Mamata Banerjee condemned the incident and assured strong action against the perpetrators. “Nobody will be excused. Whoever is guilty will be punished strictly. Three people have already been arrested. We will take stringent action… When it happens in other states, it is also condemnable,” she said.

Banerjee drew parallels to similar crimes in BJP-ruled states, and questioned the alleged silence of these governments, stating that stringent action must be also be taken in these cases. “Three weeks ago, three girls were raped on the beach in Odisha. What action is being taken by the Odisha government?. Such incidents have taken place in Manipur, UP, Bihar, Odisha; we also think the government must take stringent action there,” the chief minister said.

Durgapur gangrape

A second-year student of a private medical college in Durgapur, West Bengal, was allegedly raped by three men when she had gone out of the campus with a male friend at around 8 PM on Friday night.

The 23-year-old victim, a Dalit native of Jaleshwar in Odisha, was attacked by the accused men, while her male friend ran away and did not alert anyone, her father has claimed.

“She was attacked between 8 and 9 pm. Her male companion ran away and did not raise an alarm or seek help. The miscreants then dragged her into a jungle area and did unspeakable things to her,” he claimed.

Why victim’s father feels ‘unsafe’ in WB?

The victim’s father said he and his family did not feel safe in West Bengal, and appealed Odisha Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi to help shift his daughter to Bhubaneswar.

“I appeal to Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi to help shift my daughter to Bhubaneswar. I fear that her life may be in danger. They (not taking any name) will kill my daughter. Her health condition has improved, but there is danger to her life. I cannot trust them,” he said. I am hiding in Durgapur, while my wife, a diabetic, stands at the bedside of our daughter in the hospital,” he told news agency PTI.

Asked about West Bengal CM’s remarks, the victim’s father said: “This is completely false. I see an attempt to suppress the incident. My daughter had not gone out at midnight—it was just 8 pm on Friday.”

Meanwhile, the three accused arrested by the West Bengal police in the alleged gangrape case were remanded to 10 days’ police custody by a district court on Sunday.

“Three persons have been arrested so far. They have been forwarded to the Court today. Further investigation is ongoing, and everything is going according to the protocol. All investigation is taking place…” said Asansol Durgapur Police Commissionerate DCP Abhishek Gupta.

(With inputs from agencies)