In a sharp twist in the Durgapur sexual assault case, the West Bengal Police on 14 October arrested Wasif Ali, the 23-year-old friend of the victim, with whom she had gone out on the evening in question. The police have claimed that, contrary to earlier reports of a gangrape, the evidence now suggests that only one person was involved in the assault.

Ali, a resident of Malda, was initially detained on 11 October, a day after the alleged incident. He was questioned over several days before being formally arrested on Tuesday evening. The police say his statements had internal inconsistencies, which raised significant doubts about his version of events.

According to the initial complaint, the assault occurred on the evening of 10 October. The victim, a second-year student at IQ City Medical College Hospital, was walking with Wasif Ali along a deserted road when she claimed she was dragged into a nearby jungle and gangraped by five men. Police have already arrested five suspects: Apu Bauri, Sheikh Firdous, Sheikh Riazuddin, Sheikh Nasiruddin and Sheikh Shafiqul. All five men are allegedly affiliated with the Trinamool Congress.

These suspects have been charged under sections 70(1) (gang rape) and 3(5) (crime committed with common intention) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS). The police detained Ali partly to question why he had left the scene when the girl was reportedly being attacked. Now, he stands arrested as further scrutiny reveals contradictions in multiple accounts.

Investigators say that contradictions exist across the survivor’s statements, Ali’s narrative, the confessions of the earlier arrested suspects, and medical reports — making it difficult to piece together a consistent version of events.

At first, the victim reportedly told doctors that “she was dragged by three men and only one of them raped her.” Later, she altered her account, claiming she was attacked by five men who gangraped her. The changing nature of her statements has become a central point in the police’s revised line of inquiry.

Police also examined CCTV footage, which, according to their statements, does not support her descriptions. The video reportedly captures the victim and Wasif Ali leaving the campus together at 7:54 pm, then shows Ali returning alone at 8:42 pm, leaving again at 8:48 pm, and finally coming back with the victim at 9:29 pm. In the footage, the girl appears to return calmly, her clothes intact, and she does not appear to seek help from campus security guards.

A senior police officer remarked, “When a woman is dragged into a jungle and gangraped, there is always some physical evidence. But the footage shows otherwise.”

Only one attacker suspected by police

Asansol-Durgapur Police Commissioner Sunil Kumar Choudhary said that while Ali is under suspicion, the evidence so far points to a single perpetrator, not multiple aggressors. He added that the roles of the other arrested suspects are still under examination, but that both the investigation and medical reports now suggest that there was no gangrape.

He confirmed that the clothes worn by the victim on the night of the incident have been seized. DNA tests will be carried out on all suspects. The police also noted that the complaint was filed at 1:05 am following the incident, after which the police promptly proceeded to the scene. The hospital authorities submitted a written complaint the next afternoon.

Commissioner Choudhary elaborated, “We have arrested all the five people who were at the spot except the victim and her friend. We have confiscated the clothes they were wearing that day. We went to inspect the spot with the victim’s friend. It has been reconstructed. According to the various samples found so far and according to the victim’s statement, only one accused raped her. The role of the rest is being investigated.”

He noted that the investigation is ongoing and emphasised that the forensic and medical test results, once available, will be decisive. Ali continues to be questioned intensively, and the exact extent of his involvement is yet to be established.

Investigators have stated that contradictions in the narratives of the survivor, her friend, and the five prior suspects have complicated the probe. They also flagged disparities between the victim’s initial medical statement and her later police account.

The victim’s father, who filed a complaint on 11 October, also named Ali as a possible suspect. He told the media, “I am sure that her friend definitely has some kind of involvement in the crime. He accompanied my daughter out of the college. I think this could be pre-planned, or else this could not have happened.” He alleged that his daughter had initially resisted going out, but Ali persuaded her to join him for dinner. According to the family, Ali fled the scene when their assailants appeared.

The police have recovered the victim’s phone, which perpetrators had apparently snatched during the crime.

TMC accuses survivor of lying

While the investigation continues and police have only proposed the possibility of a single assailant, the ruling Trinamool Congress (TMC) has already launched a counter narrative. TMC state general secretary Nilanjan Das accused the survivor of fabricating the gangrape claim to shield her boyfriend, Wasif Ali. He asserted, “The ‘gangrape’ story was made up to save the boyfriend, Wasif Ali, from local robbers.”

Das referred to a publication, Khabar 365 Din, which alleges that the victim and Ali had consensually gone into the jungle. According to that report, some inebriated men later found them in a compromising situation, looted them, and then the victim staged the “gangrape” narrative so she could recover her phone without revealing what had actually happened.

Initial arrests in the case

Before Ali’s arrest, police had already detained five local villagers: Sheikh Safiqul (30), Sheikh Nasiruddin (23), Apu Bauri (21), Firdous Sheikh (23), and Sheikh Riazuddin (31). All worked as daily wage labourers in nearby villages and were held based on phone records and circumstantial evidence.

Two of them were remanded to police custody for nine days, while the remaining three were held for 10 days. The case has ignited political tension between West Bengal and Odisha, the home state of the victim.

Odisha Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi spoke with the survivor’s father and pledged full legal and administrative support. He declared, “The culprits must face the severest punishment.”