Kolkata, Oct 14 (IANS) The West Bengal Police, on Tuesday, arrested the male friend of the Durgapur gang-rape victim, taking the total number of arrests in the case to six, officials said.

The second-year medical student had gone out with her male friend identified as Wasif Ali to buy dinner on October 10 evening.

According to the police, the arrest was made after the police found inconsistencies in his response during questioning.

Earlier on Tuesday, Ali was taken to the forest area outside the private medical college and hospital to corroborate the claims made by the five accused, who were also taken there to reconstruct the crime scene.

According to sources, Ali’s response during police questioning was incoherent, which led to his arrest.

He hails from the Malda district.

Hours before his arrest, Asansol-Durgapur Police Commissioner Sunil Kumar Choudhary said the role of the male friend of the rape victim is also being investigated.

“The friend of victim, who was also present at the place of occurrence of the incident, apart from these five accused persons…. his role is also not beyond doubt. We are investigating his role as well. We have examined him several times,” Choudhary added.

On October 10, a second-year medical student from Odisha was gang-raped by five persons in a forest area outside a private medical college and hospital in West Burdwan district’s Durgapur.

Based on the complaint lodged by the victim, the police have arrested all the five accused persons in the case.

They are currently in police custody.

Meanwhile, BJP workers continued to hold a protest in Durgapur and several party leaders from Odisha arrived at the hospital on Tuesday.

However, they were not allowed inside the hospital following the Calcutta High Court order which banned the entry of outsiders.

–IANS

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