RANCHI, April 17 -- MLA Saryu Roy on Thursday made a startling intervention in the recent sexual assault case involving a dental student, claiming the incident was merely the tip of an iceberg.

While the Ranchi SSP has promised "severe punishment" for the perpetrators, Roy said a standard investigation into a single crime was insufficient to dismantle a "vicious, organised trap" operating within the city's education hubs.

In a press statement, Roy revealed that his personal discussions with the SSP and internal leads suggest the existence of a gang that systematically ensnares female students through blackmail and coercion.

According to Roy, the gang operates by first victimising a girl and then forcing her to act as "bait" for others....