Security personnel stand guard as people block a road and stage a protest following the recovery of the body of a minor girl who went missing, in Baruipur, South 24 Parganas district, West Bengal, on July 5, 2026
| Photo Credit: PTI
The story so far: On Sunday (July 5, 2026) the body of 12 -year-old girl was fished out from a pond in Baruipur in West Bengal. The girl had gone missing on Saturday (July 4, 2026) and the family had filed a police complaint. After the body was recovered, violence erupted in the area. An angry mob attacked police personnel, vandalised police vehicles, blocked roads and railway tracks. A person was also lynched by a mob.What measures were taken by the administration ?By Wednesday (July 8, 2026), the police arrested four persons in connection with the crime. Those arrested were identified as Prabhas Mandal, Anand Sardar and Dibakar Sardar and Kabir Mollah. Preliminary investigation suggested that Prabhas Mondal had abducted the girl and the accused sexually assaulted her before throwing her in a pond. A CCTV footage where Prabhas Mondal is seen with the victim has also surfaced. The preliminary post-mortem report suggested sexual assault and subsequent death due to drowning, suggesting that the child was alive when she was thrown in the pond.Prabhas Mondal was shot dead in the early hours of Wednesday (July 8, 2026) in what the police said was an encounter. According to the police, Prabhas Mondal was taken to the scene of crime at Suryapur in Baruipur to recreate the series of event, when he snatched a firearm and shot at the police personnel present at the spot. He was shot in retaliatory firing and succumbed to injuries at Baruipur State General Hospital.Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari has not only assured justice for the family members of the victim but also added that those who had indulged in mob violence will have to suffer. The accused in sexual assault and murder of the girl have been booked under section 63 (rape), 70 (2) (gangrape), 103 (1) (murder), and 238 (deliberately tampering with evidence) of BNS and the necessary sections of Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act, 2012.Prohibitory orders under Section 163 of BNSS have been imposed across areas under three police stations, including Baruipur, Narayanpur, and Sonarpur, to prevent any gatherings. Four FIRs were registered, including one in the rape and murder of the minor. The other FIRs relate to mob violence, attack on police personnel and blocking roads and railway tracks.Communal angle behind mob violence says CMChief Minister Suvendu Adhikari said that attempts were made to give communal colour to the incident. Mr. Suvendhu also commented that the protests reminded him of the earlier instances of mob violence during the Trinamool Congress rule, such as those that unfolded over the Citizenship ( Amendment) Act. He also added that the man who was lynched by the mob was innocent. Amidst allegations that the police did not act in time, the Chief Minister on Tuesday (July 7, 2026) asked the State’s Director General of Police, to submit a report within 72 hours. ”If there is any negligence on the time taken after the complaint was lodged, even if it is one per cent, action will be taken,” Mr. Adhikari told media persons at Baruipur. There are also allegations that police did not take the missing complaint seriously and one of the accused Ananda Sardar fled from the police outpost where he had been brought in for questioning. A video clip, shared by the Trinamool Congress on social media, purportedly showed a conversation between the accused and the police where the accused mention a third person ‘Raja’ whom the accused describes as a ‘party person’.What has been the response of the victim’s family ?The family members of the victim, met the Chief Minister at Baruipur on Tuesday (July 7, 2026). The family, which has been seeking exemplary punishment for those responsible for the crime, has also raised questions on the role of police. The relatives, however, added that the Chief Minister gave them a patient hearing and was aware of the developments in the case. The family has sought a police outpost near their residence at Suryapur, which the Chief Minister has accepted. Mr. Adhikari has offered compensation both the family of 12-year-old victim and the youth who was lynched by the mob.What has been the political fallout of the incident ?The rape and murder and subsequent mob violence had posed a challenge to the newly-inducted Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government in West Bengal. The BJP’s campaign in the recently concluded Assembly polls had highlighted the recurrent incidents of sexual assault on women during the Trinamool Congress regime and promised that such incidents won’t happen once the saffron party comes to power. Faced with a similar situation, BJP government is trying to give the message that it is serious in fighting crime against women. The Chief Minister reaching out the family members of the victim and the police action is an indication that the West Bengal government under Suvendu Adhikari wants to project itself as a “strong government” that takes a different approach than the previous regime.Emphasising that the policing in West Bengal needs an overhaul, the Suvendu Adhikari government has recently passed two legislations — The West Bengal Public Safety and Control of Anti-Social Activities Bill, 2026 and The West Bengal Maintenance of Public Order (Amendment) Bill 2026, which deals with preventive detention and payment of compensation for accused damaging public and private property respectively. However, the rape and murder of a 12-year-old-girl and mob violence where an innocent person was killed raises questions on whether there will be any change on the ground. Published - July 08, 2026 10:32 am IST
