The alleged rape of a 23-year-old medical student in Durgapur has taken a dramatic turn. The police on Tuesday arrested her classmate  hailing from Malda  as the sixth accused in the case, after finding “glaring inconsistencies” in his statements.  Authorities now say that the evidence suggests only one person was directly involved in the assault, challenging earlier narratives of a gang-rape.

CCTV footage from the college showed the survivor and her friend leaving campus around 7:54 pm. The friend then returned alone at 8:42 pm, exited again later, and finally came back with the survivor at 9:29 pm.  The police say the friend’s movements and delay in raising alarm cast him under suspicion.

Earlier, five local men were arrested based on phone records and circumstantial evidence.  But investigators now maintain that their roles are under review, and only one suspect appears to have been involved in the actual assault.  The survivor’s father, in a separate complaint, had named her classmate as a suspect, implying the possibility of a premeditated plan.