They held a meeting at Banerjee’s residence in southern Kolkata before leaving for Baruipur. On Sunday night, the TMC alleged that barricades were erected and there was heavy police deployment outside the former chief minister’s residence to prevent her from visiting the victim’s family.
Also Read: Three arrested in Baruipur minor’s rape-murder case; CM promises justice
The team included former assembly speaker and local MLA Biman Banerjee, Rajya Sabha MP Dola Sen and Joynagar MP Pratima Mondal, among others.
Baruipur remained tense on Monday, a day after locals held a protest demanding the arrest of the accused. The demonstration had escalated to brick batting, during which a major road was blocked, tyres burnt and police vehicles were vandalised.
The body of the girl, stuffed in a sack, was fished out from a pond on Sunday, following which a mob lynched a man for his alleged involvement in her rape and murder.
Also Read: Police forces remain outside Mamata Banerjee’s residence ahead of Baruipur visit
Police clamped prohibitory orders under Section 163 of the BNSS in Baruipur and its adjacent Narendrapur and Sonarpur police station areas in the aftermath of Sunday’s violence and deployed heavy security.The state government has constituted a six-member Special Investigation Team (SIT), headed by the local additional superintendent of police, to probe the crime.
While two suspects were arrested following overnight search operations and three others detained for questioning, the prime accused in the case — Ananda Sardar — was held on Monday, police said.
TMC’s Baruipur Dakshin MLA Biman Banerjee said, “Police should have been proactive in tracing the criminals. The locals had no choice but to resort to protests and it was spontaneous.”
“It was unfortunate that Mamata Banerjee was stopped from visiting the victim’s family,” he said and termed it an attempt to throttle people’s voice.
Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari said in Kolkata his government will ensure the girl’s family gets justice and the perpetrators of the brutal crime are hanged.
“It’s a crime of unspeakable horror. I have spoken to the parents of the victim and the government is doing everything that the family has asked of. They will get justice, and the criminals will get capital punishment. I am happy that the family has reposed its trust in the government,” he said.
Adhikari added that besides the main crime, three cases have also been lodged in connection with the violence that followed.
“There was an incident of mob lynching with a communal angle to it. Railway tracks were damaged, bringing back memories of the 2019 anti-CAA protests and the more recent anti-Waqf Act protest. These apart, two CRPF jawans were assaulted, and a police vehicle was torched,” the CM said.
“We will surely provide justice to the family. But we will also make those frustrated souls, who locked themselves up in their rooms after getting defeated in the elections and who orchestrated the violence, suffer beyond their imagination,” he warned, obliquely referring to local TMC leaders suspected of taking part in Sunday’s unrest.
The victim’s family has alleged that the girl was murdered. The body was sent for post-mortem, which has confirmed sexual assault, head injuries, and ante-mortem drowning. According to the post-mortem report, the cause of death was a combination of head injuries and drowning. PTI
