IIM Calcutta alleged rape case: Kolkata police forms 9-member SIT to investigate; accused sent to police custody till July 19

Kolkata Police said on Sunday that the DC Southwest Division has formed a nine-member special investigation team (SIT) to investigate the alleged rape of a mental health counsellor inside the hostel of IIM Calcutta by a second-year student.

The development comes hours after a local court sent the accused student, Mahaveer Toppannavar alias Parmanand Jain, to police custody till July 19.

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Kolkata Police Chief Prosecutor Sourin Ghosal stated that during the hearing, the accused claimed that the physical relationship between him and the victim was consensual. Still, the prima facie investigation supported the victim’s claim.

“We asked for police custody, and the accused asked for bail. They argued that it was consensual. We argued that no, the prima facie investigation shows that a crime was committed, and the medical evidence supports the victim. The court granted police custody till July 19,” said Ghosal.

Earlier on Saturday, during the court proceedings, defence attorney Subrata Sardar pointed out that the time of the offence and the registration of the FIR were the same, and this raises questions about how the victim reached the police station so fast.

He also raised questions on how the alleged rape survivor reached the campus without registering her details in the visitors’ list.

He claimed something fishy in the way the prosecution had described the incident.

Meanwhile, the father of the victim has denied her daughter’s involvement with the accused. Earlier, there were reports that the father had also denied that her daughter was raped, claiming she had fallen off an autorickshaw and “lost her senses”.

The accused’s mother has also defended her son, claiming that her son was innocent and didn’t rape the counsellor.