A 12-year-old girl’s alleged gang rape and murder triggered widespread violence in South 24 Parganas’ Baruipur in West Bengal on Sunday, resulting in the alleged lynching of a youth suspected of involvement in the crime.
The mob also attacked police personnel, and disrupted rail and road traffic for several hours. The victim’s body, packed inside a sack, was recovered from a pond near her residence at Suryapur under Dhapdhapi II Gram Panchayat.
The discovery sparked massive protests, with residents blocking roads and railway tracks, torching tyres, vandalising vehicles and demanding immediate arrest of all those responsible.
As per police sources, two persons have so far been arrested in connection with the girl’s murder, while another suspect was apprehended by local residents and handed over to the police.
According to the victim’s family, the girl had left home on Saturday evening to buy food from a nearby shop but never returned. Her family alleged that four persons had forcibly taken her away.
After an overnight search, her body was found floating in a nearby pond on Sunday morning. As news of the recovery spread, hundreds of villagers gathered at the spot and refused to allow police to remove the body for several hours.
Protesters staged road blockades for nearly five hours and also blocked railway tracks at Suryapur station on the Sealdah-Namkhana section, disrupting train services for about an hour before normal operations resumed following police intervention.
During the protests, a local youth was allegedly beaten to death by an angry mob. Residents claimed he had been seen in the company of some of the suspects and suspected his involvement in the crime.
Police reached the spot but faced stiff resistance while attempting to rescue him. The situation soon turned volatile as protesters allegedly hurled stones at the police and damaged several vehicles. Several police personnel sustained injuries in the clashes, with one officer admitted to a nursing home for treatment.
Police later brought the situation under control with the deployment of a large contingent, assisted by central forces. Inspector General of Police (Presidency Range), Kankar Prasad Barui, visited the area and appealed to residents through a public address system to maintain peace and cooperate with the investigation.
“The situation is under control. A large police picket has been deployed and no one involved in this heinous crime will be spared. We will ensure that all the accused are arrested and the strongest possible punishment is sought,” Barui said.
He also assured the protesters that the post-mortem examination would be conducted at the earliest under proper legal procedures, adding that the police would leave no stone unturned in securing justice for the victim.
West Bengal Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari spoke to the victim’s father over the telephone on Sunday and assured him that the accused would face the strictest punishment under the law. He also invited the bereaved father to meet her at Nabanna on Tuesday to discuss the case and assured him of all possible assistance.
By Sunday afternoon, police persuaded protesters to withdraw the road and rail blockades, allowing traffic and train services to resume. The girl’s body was subsequently sent to Baruipur Sub-Divisional Hospital for post-mortem examination.
Senior police officers said security has been tightened across the area to prevent any further outbreak of violence, while investigators continue to probe the circumstances leading to the minor’s death and the subsequent mob lynching. Police are also examining the role of those involved in the attack on law enforcement personnel during the protests.