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Protests follow rape and murder of 11-year-old girl in West Bengal
An 11-year-old girl was found raped and murdered near Kolkata on Sunday. A mob lynched an innocent man, and police later killed the main suspect during an alleged escape attempt.
Jul 10, 9:31 AM·2m read3 sources
The GuardianAudio version
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Protests have engulfed the Indian state of West Bengal after the rape and murder of an 11-year-old girl, the lynching of an innocent man, and the police killing of one of the accused. Outrage erupted on Sunday after the body of a missing girl was recovered from a pond in a town just outside the state capital, Kolkata.
Police said the child had been raped and then stuffed into a sack and thrown into the pond while still alive. According to the autopsy, she had suffered an extreme blow to the head and her body showed bites and scratches. The assault prompted fury from the local community, who set upon a 26-year-old man they believed was responsible.
When police arrested the main suspect on Monday, they said the man who had been killed was not among those held in connection with the case.
Political tensions rise The incident escalated into a political row after the recently elected state government, run by the Bharatiya Janata party, was accused by political opponents of failing to protect women and of a decline in law and order in the state.
Family members have alleged that the police initially did not take the incident seriously and that they were forced to look for the girl themselves, checking CCTV cameras in the local area. Police have not responded to the allegations. Tensions escalated further on Tuesday after police shot and killed Pravash Mondal, the main suspect, after an alleged attempt by him to snatch a police gun and escape, according to officers at the scene.
The circumstances of the police killing have been questioned by opposition figures, who said it raised concerns over the rule of law.
Background and response Women’s safety was already a contentious political issue in the state. The rape and murder of a trainee doctor at a government hospital in Kolkata in 2024 had become a pivotal subject in the state elections, which took place in April, and was seen as one of the issues that brought down the previous government after 15 years in power.
