Kolkata: A sexual assault allegation at the Indian Institute of Management (IIM) Calcutta has reignited the debate over women’s safety in West Bengal. The case has also led to some awkward questions for the state government, which has been facing a barrage of criticism over other recent incidents of sexual violence in Kolkata. The controversy, however, took a new turn when the complainant’s father on Saturday denied that she was raped but said that she fell down from an autorickshaw, after which he took her to the hospital. In the written complaint, the victim reportedly accused a second-year MBA student of rape.
The father told the reporters on Saturday that he received a call at 9:34 p.m. on Friday informing him that his daughter had lost consciousness after falling off a moving vehicle. The father added that the daughter was immediately brought to the neurology department of SSKM Hospital in Kolkata, and police were present there when she was rushed. “I spoke to my daughter. She told me that no sexual assault took place,” he was quoted as saying. “She is completely fine. She has no links with him. She has come to the institute to drop some documents and nothing else. She has not met him,” he further claimed in his interaction with the media.
The man’s claim came in stark contrast to a written complaint filed by the woman at Haridevpur Police Station in Kolkata on Friday evening. In her first information report (FIR), the woman stated that the accused had “misguided” her to the boys’ hostel on the IIM campus for a “counselling test.” She claimed in the FIR that the man had given her a glass of water, which she had consumed, and then she lost consciousness. She further alleged that on regaining consciousness, she found out that she was sexually assaulted. The accused was arrested around midnight on July 12 from the institute campus and was later sent to a state-run medical college and hospital for treatment and admitted to the District Judicial Mental Hospital for further medical tests. In the Kolkata court, his lawyer argued that the woman, a psychological counsellor by profession, had met the student on a matrimonial site, developed a relationship and visited the boys’ hostel “freely” for some professional reason. This, the lawyer said, may be found out from her statements, as the girl’s statement is not matching with the allegations. The court remanded the accused to police custody until July 19.
The IIM Calcutta director-in-charge, Saibal Chattopadhyay, also made a statement saying that the institute has assured the police of a “zero-tolerance” policy and full cooperation with the investigation. He also stressed that the complainant is not a student or faculty member of the IIM.
The West Bengal ruling Trinamool Congress (TMC) also called for restraint and advised against making any statement on the issue, warning the opposition BJP against politicising the incident. TMC General Secretary Kunal Ghosh in a statement said, “Not every complaint or crime should be tied to us. Father’s statement is different from the complaint—let the police complete their investigation. Don’t draw a conclusion until the investigation is over. We all have to maintain restraint. “Avoid using fear as a political tool.” Ghosh further said that their (BJP) volunteers are writing letters to his house without his permission.
Kolkata police are looking into CCTV footage and talking to witnesses. The woman’s father said she was asleep and that he has not been able to talk to her in detail. “The girl is mentally stable. There is no question of trauma,” he stated. The accused’s lawyer questioned how the alleged rape happened at the IIM Calcutta campus, saying the institute had high-security systems in place, where anyone coming on the campus needs to show their ID card.
The woman’s complaint has led to a question mark on safety for women students in West Bengal, which has seen a series of sexual assault cases in Kolkata in recent years, including the rape and murder of a trainee doctor at R.G. Kar Medical College in August 2024 and gangrape of a woman in June 2025 at South Calcutta Law College, Kolkata.