Durgapur (West Bengal)

National Commission for Women (NCW) member Archana Majumdar strongly criticised West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee's statement suggesting women should stay indoors after evening for safety.

She called the remark "absurd" and urged the Chief Minister to focus on strengthening law and order.

Majumdar emphasised that women are excelling in various fields, including hospitals, IT, and sports, and should not be confined to their homes.

"How can we say that in the evening, that is 12 hours a day, a girl should stay locked in a room. Women are working in hospitals, the IT sector and everywhere equally to men. Today's Indian girls are winning gold medals in weightlifting at the Olympics. They are going to space and we say that girls should stay inside the house after 9 or 8 pm... They have the power, capacity and knowledge to work.... It is the responsibility of the chief minister to stand beside women and to make laws to secure women... This is absurd, I cannot support her statement that girls should stay at home... This is not correct," she said.

Earlier today, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee made a shocking statement as she advised colleges not to allow girls to go outside at night after the alleged gangrape of a medical student in Durgapur.

"I'm shocked to see the incident, but private medical colleges also should take care of their students, and especially girls. The girls should not be allowed to go outside (college) at night. They have to protect themselves also. There is a forest area. Police are searching all the people," Mamata Banerjee said.

Meanwhile, three persons arrested for allegedly raping a medical student in West Bengal's Durgapur were remanded to 10 days' police custody by a local court here on Sunday.

A second-year student of a private medical college was allegedly gangraped in Durgapur on Friday night. The survivor is from Jaleswar, Odisha.

The gangrape has sparked massive outrage, with the Bharatiya Janata Party accusing the Mamata Banerjee government of failing to protect women, while the ruling TMC slammed the BJP for allegedly politicising the incident.

Union Minister Sukanta Majumdar said that the Trinamool Congress leadership was repeatedly making such statements on women and asked if the Chief Minister wanted all women to wear burqas and stay at home.

"Earlier, when the RG Kar Medical College incident occurred, a notification was issued that private companies should give fewer night shifts to women. Now the Chief Minister is saying that women should not go out at night. Does she want all women to wear burqas and stay at home?, Sukanta Majumdar asked.

CM Mamata Banerjee made a shocking statement on Sunday as she advised colleges not to allow girls to go outside at night after the alleged gangrape of a medical student.

"I'm shocked to see the incident, but private medical colleges also should take care of their students, and especially girls. The girls should not be allowed to go outside (college) at night. They have to protect themselves also. There is a forest area. Police are searching all the people," Mamata Banerjee said.

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A second-year student of a private medical college was allegedly gangraped in Durgapur. The survivor is from Jaleswar, Odisha