Baruipur, India. Police in India’s West Bengal state said on Friday they had arrested 35 people for violence and vandalism during protests over the rape and murder of an 11-year-old girl. Authorities said one innocent person was lynched by angry crowds during the unrest.
Arrests after protests turn violent
Police said protesters blocked roads and torched vehicles after the girl’s body was found in a pond in Baruipur on Sunday, a day after she went missing. Baruipur is about 30 km from Kolkata.
“We have arrested 35 people for violence and vandalism so far … others involved are being identified through multiple videos that went viral,” senior state police officer Arvind Kumar Anand told Reuters.
Suspect shot dead during investigation
Police said one of four men arrested in connection with the girl’s rape and murder was shot dead. The suspect, Prabhas Mondal, was shot in the early hours of Wednesday while attempting to escape after being taken to the crime scene as part of the investigation, police said.
Mondal’s mother refused to accept his body, saying in a television interview that she did not want to bring it home because he “did not do anything good”.
“The sin committed by my son, he has received punishment for it,” she said.
Claims of mistaken identity
Indian media quoted the family of one of the other suspects as saying he was innocent and had been arrested in a case of mistaken identity. There was no report of comment from the families of the other two suspects.
Government response and wider concerns
Suvendu Adhikari, who became West Bengal’s chief minister after Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party won state polls in May, said there would be “no leniency” for those committing crimes like rape and violence, or for those beating “innocent and blameless” people to death.
“This new government will pursue such criminals to the fullest extent of the law and ensure justice is served,” he said on X on Thursday.
The case has again highlighted concerns about the safety of women and girls in India, despite tougher laws introduced after the 2012 Delhi gang rape and murder of a 22-year-old woman triggered nationwide demonstrations. Four men convicted in that case were hanged.
