Key Accused In Rape-Murder Of 11-Year-Old In Bengal Killed In Encounter

One of the suspects in the rape and murder of an 11-year-old girl was killed in a police encounter last night in the Baruipur suburb of Kolkata. Around midnight, Pravash Mondal was taken to the spot for the reconstruction of the crime. During this, he tried to snatch a firearm from the police and flee, sources told NDTV.

Mondal was among the three suspects arrested after the girl's body was found stuffed in a sack from a pond in Baruipur. The two others have been identified as Ananda Sardar and Dibakar Sardar. Sources said they had confessed to their crime. A fourth accused, Kabir Mollah, was picked up from Basirhat yesterday.

A wave of violent protests swept the southern suburbs after the girl's body was found on Sunday, as angry locals damaged railway tracks and police vehicles.

Read: 11-Year-Old Last Seen In CCTV Footage Before Bengal Rape-Murder Horror

At least 20 people have been arrested in such vandalism cases. According to the police, they were also involved in the lynching of an innocent man, Indrajit Mondal, who was beaten to death on suspicion of being involved in the rape and murder case.

The arrests came a day after Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari met the families of the girl and the lynching victim in Baruipur, and said that 200 people had been identified for instigating violent protests.

"Not a single person will be spared. The government will teach them proper lessons," the chief minister had said.

The police had earlier said the gangrape and murder of the minor was a planned act.

The investigation has revealed that Mondal was tasked with luring the girl to a secluded spot where the two other suspects had been camping. After the crime, they stuffed her in a sack and threw it in a pond. She was alive at that time, suggests the autopsy, since water had been found in her lungs.

Read: Rape-Murder Of 11-Year-Old In Bengal Pre-Planned: Police After Three Arrests

The chief minister has directed all police stations across the district to take the strictest possible precautions to stop atrocities against women in the state. He has asked the Director General of Police, Siddh Nath Gupta, to submit a report within 72 hours detailing the events and the progress of the investigation.

The incident has also taken a political turn, with the Trinamool alleging that the police were trying to shield the main accused.