Protests engulf West Bengal after brutal killing of 11-year-old girl
Protests have erupted across the Indian state of West Bengal following the rape and murder of an 11-year-old girl, the subsequent lynching of an innocent man, and the police killing of one of the accused. The girl's body was recovered from a pond in Baruipur, south of Kolkata, on Sunday, prompting outrage from the local community.
According to police, the child had been raped, stuffed into a sack, and thrown into the pond while still alive. An autopsy revealed she suffered an extreme blow to the head, and her body showed bites and scratches. The brutality of the assault sparked fury, leading a mob to attack a 26-year-old man they believed was responsible. However, police later confirmed the man was innocent, and he was not among the main suspects detained.
Political row escalates over law and order
The incident has ignited a political row, with the opposition accusing the newly elected state government, led by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), of failing to protect women and overseeing a decline in law and order. Family members alleged that police initially did not take the incident seriously, forcing them to search for the girl themselves by checking local CCTV cameras. Police have not responded to these allegations.
Protests after the body was recovered led to vandalism of local shops and attacks on police officers. Tensions further escalated on Tuesday when police shot and killed Pravash Mondal, the main suspect, claiming he attempted to snatch a police gun and escape. Opposition figures questioned the circumstances of the police killing, raising concerns over the rule of law. Similar police killings have been widely documented in other BJP-ruled states but were previously unusual in West Bengal.
Women's safety a contentious issue
Women's safety has been a contentious political issue in West Bengal. The rape and murder of a trainee doctor at a government hospital in Kolkata in 2024 became a pivotal subject in the state elections in April, contributing to the downfall of the previous government after 15 years in power. The current protests have seen workers from the BJP and opposition Trinamool Congress party come to blows, and a ban on public gatherings is now in force across the state, with paramilitary officers deployed to sensitive areas.
West Bengal's newly elected BJP chief minister, Suvendu Adhikari, visited the rape victim's family on Tuesday and stated the government's commitment to preventing violent attacks against women. However, Adhikari, a hardline Hindu nationalist, faced accusations of seeking to communalise the incident. The young girl was Muslim, while her alleged attackers are Hindu, and the man killed by the mob was also Hindu. Adhikari suggested the attack on the Hindu man had a "communal connection" and that there was a "political conspiracy" behind the violence. More than 30 people have been arrested over the lynching and wider violence.
