Durgapur gang-rape case: Why was the victim's male friend sent to police custody?

Synopsis
Key Takeaways
- Male friend Wasif Ali remanded for seven days.
- Police have conducted DNA tests on detained suspects.
- Victim's father calls for a CBI investigation.
- The victim is reportedly in stable condition.
- Authorities are examining the male friend's role in the incident.
Kolkata, Oct 15 (NationPress) A court in West Bengal's Durgapur on Wednesday ordered the male friend of the gang rape victim, Wasif Ali, to be held in police custody for seven days.
Sources indicate that no legal representation was present for Ali during his court appearance, prompting a lawyer from the Durgapur Sub-divisional Legal Aid Centre to step in on his behalf.
In the meantime, authorities have performed DNA tests on five individuals who were detained earlier in the investigation.
On Tuesday, Asansol-Durgapur Police Commissioner Sunil Kumar Choudhary disclosed that only one individual was implicated in the actual sexual assault.
Additionally, the police are scrutinizing the involvement of the victim's male friend, as inconsistencies in his statements led to his arrest.
On Tuesday, law enforcement took the detained suspects and the male friend to a forested area to recreate the crime scene.
The victim, a second-year medical student from Odisha, was reportedly gang-raped by five men in a wooded region near a private medical college and hospital in West Burdwan district on Friday. Following the victim's complaint, police apprehended all five suspects, who remain in custody. With the addition of the male friend, a total of six individuals have been arrested in connection with this case.
Hospital sources report that the victim's condition has improved significantly and she is now stable. On Tuesday, she provided her testimony to a judicial magistrate in accordance with section 164 of the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC).
The victim's father is calling for a CBI investigation to expedite the prosecution of the offenders, expressing dissatisfaction with the current investigation led by the Bengal Police.