Police Shoot Dead Baruipur Gang-Rape Accused in Encounter

Police shot dead Prabhash Mondol, the main accused in the gang rape and murder of an 11-year-old girl in West Bengal's Baruipur, in an encounter after midnight.

A police statement stated that Mondol snatched a policeman's firearm, fired one round at the police party and tried to escape during a crime scene reconstruction. Police opened fire in retaliation, injuring Mondal, who was declared dead at a hospital.

The incident stems from the gang rape and murder of an 11-year-old girl whose body was found in a sack on Sunday, about 30 km from Kolkata. An autopsy confirmed that the girl had been sexually assaulted. Police registered a case under charges of murder, gang rape and the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act.

"He got the punishment for the crime he committed," Sandhya Mondol, the mother of Mondol, told ANI. She further added that she did not want to see her son's body.

A six-member Special Investigation Team (SIT) is probing the gang-rape case while police have arrested four people in connection with the crime. Three of the accused, Mondol, Ananda Sardar and Dibakar Sardar, were arrested earlier in the investigation. Police arrested the fourth accused, Kabir Mollah, in Basirhat, North 24 Parganas, on Tuesday night.

Tensions in Baruipur

Protesters blocked roads and set tyres on fire in Baruipur after the minor's body was found in a pond, before police brought the situation under control.

A mob lynched a suspect, Indrajit Mondal, on suspicion of involvement hours after the body was found. However, Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari said police found him to be innocent. "The youth killed in the mob lynching, Indrajit Mondal, was also innocent. This is what the police told me; these are not my words. He [Mondal] will also get justice. I have met his family members also," Adhikari said.

Police have arrested 20 people so far in connection with the violence during the protests.

"All of them will be arrested. Not a single person will get respite," Adhikari said regarding the 200-odd identified protesters who damaged public property.

Political Response

Adhikari had visited Baruipur on Monday to meet the victim's family and Indrajit Mondal's family and said that they were satisfied with the progress in the case.

Women’s safety in West Bengal was a key part of the BJP’s election manifesto for the assembly elections. The crime, thus, raised questions over the government’s efforts to tackle the matter appropriately.

Responding to the encounter, TMC MP Saugata Roy told ANI that he condemned the encounter death, hoping for a thorough inquiry into the case.

"I condemn this encounter death. This happened within one day of the CM and DGP visiting. I don't know under whose instructions the police killed an accused instead of putting him in court. I am sure that a throrough inquiry will be done into this," he said.

While Kirti Azad, another TMC MP, alleged that Mondal was a BJP worker and as killed to protect others who were involved.

"Do you know who Prabhas Mondal is? He is a BJP worker. He possesses a lot of inside information about them—details regarding their plans and preparations. To ensure he doesn't spill the beans on these internal secrets, it is being staged to look like an encounter took place," Azad told ANI.