New Delhi: One of the accused in the rape and murder of a minor girl in West Bengal’s Baruipur was killed in a police encounter early Wednesday as he allegedly tried to flee during a crime scene reconstruction exercise, police said.
The accused, identified as Prabhas Mondal, was arrested in connection with the rape and murder of the minor girl in Baruipur, about 30 km from Kolkata, after CCTV footage purportedly showed him walking with her before she went missing.
Baruipur in West Bengal’s South 24 Parganas has been on edge since Sunday after the minor’s body was found in a sack dumped inside a pond. Four people have been arrested in the matter.
The case has triggered protests in West Bengal and become a political flashpoint between the ruling BJP and Mamata Banerjee’s Trinamool Congress.
On Tuesday night, a team of police officers took Mondal to Suryapur to recreate the crime scene after he allegedly informed police about where they had disposed of the child’s body.
“He began showing us the spots used by them for the crime and then quickly picked up a firearm from an officer and pointed it at the officers,” a senior officer, who did not want to be identified, told ThePrint.
Police alleged that Mondal then fired a round and tried to flee when they “fired back in retaliation”.
Mondal was rushed to the Baruipur sub-divisional hospital, where he was declared brought dead by doctors.
TMC MP Sougata Roy condemned the killing. “I condemn this encounter death. This happened within one day of the CM and DGP visiting. I don’t know under whose instructions the police killed an accused instead of putting him in court. I hope that a thorough inquiry will be done into this,” he said.
Mondal had also shared names of the other accused – Ananda Sardar, Dibakar Sardar and Kabir Mollah —who were arrested subsequently, police said. However, the police also alleged that he changed his statements frequently.
During the investigation, an autopsy confirmed sexual assault and police booked all four accused under charges of murder and gangrape, and invoked the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act.
Meanwhile, a viral social media video, which ThePrint could not verify independently, shows Mondal informing the police about the involvement of another person named Raja. However, the police are yet to confirm his involvement.
Taking to the social media platform X, the official AITC handle accused the BJP of “protecting” an accused allegedly connected with the state BJP cadre.
“In the horrific Baruipur incident, police appears to be particularly protecting an accused named Raja. Why? He is allegedly a @BJP4Bengal worker,” the post read.
“Police, acting under the instructions of the ruling party, appear to be protecting the accused and deliberately overlooking key details pertaining to the case,” the post read while sharing a viral video where Mondal was seen blaming one Raja.
Mother says son ‘punished for his deeds’
Mondal’s mother, Sandhya, told ThePrint that her son “was punished for his deeds”.
“Two policemen had come to my house early in the morning to inform me that my son was dead. They asked me if I wanted to go to the hospital,” said Sandhya.
#WATCH | West Bengal: Prabhas Mondal, the accused in the Baruipur rape and murder case, killed in a police encounter.
His mother says, "Two Policemen had come to my house. I had woken up just then. They told me that my son is dead, so would I like to go to the hospital. I told… pic.twitter.com/Xo01Hw7L4n
— ANI (@ANI) July 8, 2026
She said she told the police that she had an ailing husband to take care of and could not “bother less about a son like Prabhas”.
“After what he has done, I will not accept his body or bring it back to our house. You can…throw him away,” she said.
(Edited by Sugita Katyal)
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