Baruipur rape-murder case: Prime accused Prabhas Mondal shot dead in police encounter during crime scene reconstruction
One of the prime accused in the rape-murder case of an 11-year-old girl in West Bengal's Baruipur was shot dead in an alleged encounter with
One of the prime accused in the rape-murder case of an 11-year-old girl in West Bengal's Baruipur was shot dead in an alleged encounter with the police in the early hours of Wednesday when he "snatched a firearm from a policeman and tried to escape from custody" during a crime scene reconstruction, PTI reported citing a senior police official. Encounter deaths are quite common in Uttar Pradesh under the Yogi Adityanath government, but this is the first such incidence in West Bengal since the BJP government under Suvendu Adhikari came to power in the state. Prabhas Mondal, was the first person to be arrested in connection with the case and was being investigated as a prime accused after CCTV footage purportedly showed him with the girl shortly before she had gone missing.
As per a senior official, Mondal was taken to South 24 Parganas district's Surjyapur at around 12:45 am as investigators attempted to reconstruct the crime scene. They had been alleging that Mondal was misleading the probe and his statements were contradictory. Also Read | Death penalty for Bhimrao Kamble in Pune child's rape and murder case "During the exercise, he suddenly snatched a service firearm from a policeman and attempted to escape. He also fired one round at the police team. The police retaliated in self-defence, in which he sustained bullet injuries," PTI quoted the officer as saying. Mondal was later taken to the Sub-Divisional Hospital in Baruipur where he was declared dead. How the accused's mother reacted Mondal's mother, Sandhya Mondal, refused to claim the body of her son, saying that he had met the consequences of his actions.
"He got what he deserved for what he did," she told reporters after the police informed her of his death early on Wednesday. "Two Policemen had come to my house. I had woken up just then. They told me that my son is dead, so would I like to go to the hospital. I told them that I cannot go as my husband is ailing. I told them to go ahead and do whatever they want as I have no objections. My son has been punished for what he did. I won't accept his body. I won't bring back his body to our house. He has not done anything good. He did wrong and he has been punished for it. Kill him or do whatever you want.
I have no objections. I won't accept his body," ANI quoted her as saying. The case has resulted in widespread outrage, with residents blocking the Baruipur-Joynagar Road, setting tyres ablaze and vandalising police vehicles while demanding immediate arrests and exemplary punishment for those responsible. A man was also lynched hours after the girl's body was discovered. Later, the government revealed that the man was innocent. Adhikari visited Baruipur on Tuesday and held a review meeting with senior police officials. He had directed DGP Siddh Nath Gupta to submit a report in the rape-murder case within 72 hours and asserted that his government would follow a "zero tolerance" policy towards such crimes.
The BriefWire