A missing girl, mob violence, and an encounter: What happened in West Bengal’s Baruipur?

The story so far: On Sunday, July 5, 2026, the body of a 12-year-old girl was recovered from a pond in Baruipur in West Bengal. The girl went missing on Saturday, July 4, 2026, and the family filed a complaint with the police. After the body was found, violence broke out in the region. An angry mob attacked police personnel, damaged police vehicles, and blocked roads and railway lines. Additionally, one person was lynched by the crowd.

What measures were taken by the management?

On Wednesday, July 8, 2026, police arrested four people in connection with the crime. Those arrested were identified as Prabhas Mandal, Anand Sardar, Dibakar Sardar and Kabir Mollah. Preliminary investigation suggested that Prabhas Mondal kidnapped the girl and the accused sexually assaulted her before throwing her in a pond. A CCTV footage has also emerged in which Prabhas Mondal is seen with the victim. The initial autopsy report suggested that the child was alive when thrown into the pond, citing sexual assault followed by death by drowning.

Prabhas Mondal was shot dead in the early hours of Wednesday, July 8, 2026, in what police said was a shootout. According to the police, when Prabhas Mondal was taken to the crime scene at Suryapur in Baruipur to re-enact a series of events, he grabbed the firearm and fired at the police personnel present at the scene. He was hit by retaliatory fire at Baruipur State General Hospital and succumbed to his injuries.

Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari not only secured justice for the family members of the victim but also added that those subjected to mob violence will also have to suffer. The accused, accused of sexual assault and murder of the girl, have been booked under sections 63 (rape), 70 (2) (gangrape), 103 (1) (murder) and 238 (intentional tampering with evidence) of the BNS and necessary sections of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offenses Act, 2012.

Prohibitory orders under Section 163 of the BNSS were imposed to prevent any gathering in areas under three police stations, including Baruipur, Narayanpur and Sonarpur. Four FIRs were registered, including one for the rape and murder of a minor. Other FIRs relate to mob violence, assault on police personnel and blocking of roads and railways.

Common angle behind mob violence, according to CM

Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari said that attempts were being made to give a communal color to the event. Mr. Suvendhu also said the protests reminded him of earlier incidents of mob violence during the Trinamool Congress rule, such as those that broke out over the Citizenship (Amendment) Act. He added that the man lynched by the crowd was innocent. Amid allegations that the police did not take timely action, the Chief Minister on Tuesday, July 7, 2026, asked the State Director General of Police to submit a report within 72 hours. “If there is any negligence in the period after the complaint is made, even if it is one per cent, action will be taken,” Mr. Adhikari told media persons in Baruipur. There are also allegations that the police did not take the missing complaint seriously and that one of the accused, Ananda Sardar, escaped from the police station where he was brought for questioning. A video clip shared by the Trinamool Congress on social media allegedly shows a conversation between the accused and the police, in which the accused mentions a third person, ‘Raja’, whom he describes as a ‘party person’.

What was the reaction of the victim’s family?

Family members of the victim met the Prime Minister in Baruipur on Tuesday, July 7, 2026. The family, who wanted an exemplary punishment for those responsible for the crime, also raised questions about the role of the police. However, their relatives added that the Prime Minister listened to them patiently and was aware of the developments in the case. The family searched for a police station near their home in Suryapur, which the Prime Minister agreed to. Mr Adhikari offered compensation to both the family of the 12-year-old victim and the teenager who was lynched by the mob.

What were the political consequences of the incident?

Rape, murder and subsequent mob violence had posed a challenge to the newly inaugurated Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government in West Bengal. The BJP’s campaign in the recently concluded Assembly polls highlighted repeated incidents of sexual assault on women during the Trinamool Congress regime and promised that such incidents would not happen once the saffron party comes to power. Faced with a similar situation, the BJP government is trying to give the message that it is serious in combating crimes against women. The Prime Minister’s outreach to the victim’s family members and the police action are an indication that the West Bengal government under Suvendu Adhikari wants to project itself as a “strong government” that takes a different approach from the previous regime.

Emphasizing the need to overhaul the police force in West Bengal, the Suvendu Adhikari government recently introduced two laws: the West Bengal Public Safety and Control of Anti-Social Activities Bill, 2026 and the West Bengal Maintenance of Public Order (Amendment) Bill, 2026; It addresses preventive detention and compensation for defendants who cause damage to public and private property respectively. However, the rape and murder of a 12-year-old girl and the mafia violence in which an innocent person was murdered raise questions about whether there will be a change in the field.