'She had fallen off an autorickshaw': Case turns confusing as victim's father denies rape allegations in Kolkata's B-school incident; alleges police coercion

KOLKATA: A 24-year-old woman psychologist accused a student of one of India's top management institutes in Kolkata of raping her in his hostel room Friday, prompting police action and his arrest. But the case took a turn less than 12 hours later, when her father publicly denied that any crime had occurred and alleged police coercion.

Paramanand Toppannawar, a second-year student and Karnataka native, was picked up from his hostel on Saturday. He was produced in court and remanded in seven-day police custody under BNS sections related to rape, wrongful confinement, & use of harmful substances with intent to harm.

The woman first connected with Toppannawar online. He invited her to the campus for a 'personal counselling session'. She claimed she was not permitted to enter her name in the visitors' log - a claim that institute officials dispute. Toppannawar allegedly took her to his hostel room, citing privacy. There, he offered her pizza and a drink.

"I began feeling dizzy right after," she wrote in the complaint, quoted by police. "...I can recall him touching me inappropriately. He sexually assaulted me. I found myself on his bed when I regained my senses," the survivor wrote in her complaint.

However, by Saturday morning, her father gave interviews to multiple TV channels, contradicting the allegation. "My daughter had called me and said she had fallen off an autorickshaw. Cops said she was abused and arrested someone, but my daughter said nothing happened."

Police now face a wall of silence from the family. "They keep saying she is asleep," one senior officer said.