Medical student from Odisha 'gang-raped' in Bengal
Kolkata (PTI): A medical college student from Odisha was allegedly raped by unidentified men in West Bengal's Paschim Bardhaman district, police said on Saturday.
The police began an investigation into the incident that occurred outside the private medical college campus in Durgapur on Friday night when the second-year student went out with one of her friends for dinner, her family members said.
The survivor, from Jaleswar in Odisha, is undergoing treatment at the college hospital and gave her statement to the police, an officer said.
Following the incident that occurred after last year's RG Kar hospital rape-murder case, the opposition BJP claimed that law and order "totally collapsed" under Mamata Banerjee's rule, the TMC said such matters should not be politicised.
"On the basis of a complaint lodged by the family members of the medic, we have started an investigation," he said.
Later, DC (East) of Durgapur Commissionerate, Abhishek Gupta, said, "The matter is sensitive. The investigation is being conducted with all aspects in mind. As soon as more information is available, it will be shared."
Talking to reporters, the parents of the student said they reached Durgapur this morning after getting a call from their daughter's friends.
Her mother alleged that her daughter was "gang-raped" around 10 pm on Friday when she went out of the college campus with one of her friends for dinner.
"We came here this morning and lodged a complaint with the police. I have heard that the college performed well academically, and this is why we sent our daughter to study medicine here," the student's father said.
An initial probe revealed that the student went outside the campus with her friend around 8-8.30 pm on Friday, the police officer of New Township Police Station in Durgapur said.
"The friend left her alone when three unidentified men arrived there. The men snatched her phone and took her to a jungle outside the campus, where they raped her. She was threatened with dire consequences if she told anyone about the incident," the officer said.
The accused also demanded money from the medic to return her mobile phone, he said.
"We spoke to the victim's friend last night. We are trying to find out CCTV footage. A forensic team will visit the spot to collect evidence," the officer said.
A team of the National Commission for Women (NCW) reached the hospital in Durgapur to meet the victim and her parents.
"Crime against women is on the rise in Bengal. The police are not taking any proactive steps in such cases. This is quite unfortunate. I will request the chief minister to come forward and work in tandem to arrest the rise of such crimes," NCW member Archana Majumdar said.
Meanwhile, the state health department on Saturday sought a report from the private medical college in Durgapur, a senior official said.
"We have sought a quick report from the college authorities in this connection. Accordingly, we will take steps," he added.
Meanwhile, BJP activists started a sit-in protest outside the New Township Police Station, demanding the immediate arrest of the culprit.
Leader of the Opposition in the West Bengal Assembly, Suvendu Adhikari, spoke to the father of the victim over the phone and assured them of all help to get justice.
The BJP leader also asked the victim's father to shift his daughter to a Kolkata hospital in case the latter was not satisfied with the treatment there.
Later speaking to the media, Adhikari alleged that the law and order in West Bengal has totally collapsed under Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, who is also the police minister.
"Since last year's incident at the RG Kar Medical College and Hospital, where an on-duty doctor was gang-raped, there have been several incidents where women were tortured," Adhikari said.
It's time for the people of West Bengal to have a new government, he said.
Women and Child Development Minister Sashi Panja, called the incident “deeply unfortunate” and urged against politicising crimes against women.
“Kolkata and West Bengal are committed to women’s empowerment. We do not tolerate injustice against women,” she said, calling for patience as the investigation is on.
Panja also cautioned against politicising similar cases in other states, including Odisha.
West Bengal Congress president Subhankar Sarkar condemned the incident, saying it reflects the TMC government’s failure to protect women.
"We demand a swift investigation and sent a team to Durgapur to assess the situation and determine next steps," Sarkar said.
The West Bengal Doctors' Forum (WBDF) condemned the gang rape of the MBBS student.
"Another chilling reminder, women are not safe even on campuses. We demand justice, accountability, and real safety measures now," WBDF President Dr Kaushik Chaki said.
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Single higher education regulator bill tabled in LS; Oppn flags ‘centralisation,' JPC likely
New Delhi: A bill to set up a 13-member body to regulate institutions of higher education was introduced in the Lok Sabha on Monday.
Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan introduced the Viksit Bharat Shiksha Adhishthan Bill, which seeks to establish an overarching higher education commission along with three councils for regulation, accreditation, and ensuring academic standards for universities and higher education institutions in India.
Meanwhile, the move drew strong opposition, with members warning that it could weaken institutional autonomy and result in excessive centralisation of higher education in India.
The Viksit Bharat Shiksha Adhishthan Bill, 2025, earlier known as the Higher Education Council of India (HECI) Bill, has been introduced in line with the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020.
The proposed legislation seeks to merge three existing regulatory bodies, the University Grants Commission (UGC), the All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE), and the National Council for Teacher Education (NCTE), into a single unified body called the Viksit Bharat Shiksha Adhishthan.
At present, the UGC regulates non-technical higher education institutions, the AICTE oversees technical education, and the NCTE governs teacher education in India.
Under the proposed framework, the new commission will function through three separate councils responsible for regulation, accreditation, and the maintenance of academic standards across universities and higher education institutions in the country.
According to the Bill, the present challenges faced by higher educational institutions due to the multiplicity of regulators having non-harmonised regulatory approval protocols will be done away with.
The higher education commission, which will be headed by a chairperson appointed by the President of India, will cover all central universities and colleges under it, institutes of national importance functioning under the administrative purview of the Ministry of Education, including IITs, NITs, IISc, IISERs, IIMs, and IIITs.
At present, IITs and IIMs are not regulated by the University Grants Commission (UGC).
Government to refer bill to JPC; Oppn slams it
The government has expressed its willingness to refer it to a joint committee after several members of the Lok Sabha expressed strong opposition to the Bill, stating that they were not given time to study its provisions.
Responding to the opposition, Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju said the government intends to refer the Bill to a Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC) for detailed examination.
Congress Lok Sabha MP Manish Tewari warned that the Bill could result in “excessive centralisation” of higher education. He argued that the proposed law violates the constitutional division of legislative powers between the Union and the states.
According to him, the Bill goes beyond setting academic standards and intrudes into areas such as administration, affiliation, and the establishment and closure of university campuses. These matters, he said, fall under Entry 25 of the Concurrent List and Entry 32 of the State List, which cover the incorporation and regulation of state universities.
Tewari further stated that the Bill suffers from “excessive delegation of legislative power” to the proposed commission. He pointed out that crucial aspects such as accreditation frameworks, degree-granting powers, penalties, institutional autonomy, and even the supersession of institutions are left to be decided through rules, regulations, and executive directions. He argued that this amounts to a violation of established constitutional principles governing delegated legislation.
Under the Bill, the regulatory council will have the power to impose heavy penalties on higher education institutions for violating provisions of the Act or related rules. Penalties range from ₹10 lakh to ₹75 lakh for repeated violations, while establishing an institution without approval from the commission or the state government could attract a fine of up to ₹2 crore.
Concerns were also raised by members from southern states over the Hindi nomenclature of the Bill. N.K. Premachandran, an MP from the Revolutionary Socialist Party representing Kollam in Kerala, said even the name of the Bill was difficult to pronounce.
He pointed out that under Article 348 of the Constitution, the text of any Bill introduced in Parliament must be in English unless Parliament decides otherwise.
DMK MP T.M. Selvaganapathy also criticised the government for naming laws and schemes only in Hindi. He said the Constitution clearly mandates that the nomenclature of a Bill should be in English so that citizens across the country can understand its intent.
Congress MP S. Jothimani from Tamil Nadu’s Karur constituency described the Bill as another attempt to impose Hindi and termed it “an attack on federalism.”
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