Row erupts after Trinamool Congress MLA’s remarks about Kolkata law student gangrape case

A political row erupted in West Bengal on Saturday after Trinamool Congress MLA Madan Mitra said that the alleged gangrape of a student inside a law college in Kolkata on June 25 “could have been avoided if the victim had not gone or taken friends along with her”, The Indian Express reported.

The Trinamool Congress, the ruling party in West Bengal, distanced itself from Mitra’s remarks and condemned them. The Opposition Bharatiya Janata Party criticised Mitra and described his remarks as “victim-blaming, plain and vile”.

The alleged gangrape had taken place inside the campus of the South Calcutta Law College between 7.30 pm and 10.50 pm on June 25. The police on Friday said that three men had been arrested in connection with the assault.

All three men – identified as 30-year-old Manojit Mishra, 20-year-old Pramit Mukherjee and 19-year-old Zaib Ahmed – were produced before a court on Friday and remanded to four days of police custody.

On Saturday, Mitra told reporters that “if that girl had not gone [to the site of the incident], this would not have happened,” The Indian Express reported. “If she had informed someone or taken two friends along, this could have been avoided,” the newspaper quoted him as saying.

Mitra described the crime as “heinous” and said the party would not spare anyone who is found guilty, the newspaper...

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