Almost a day-and-a-half after a 12-year-old girl was allegedly raped and murdered in Baruipur area near West Bengal’s Kolkata, police on Monday claimed to have arrested two persons in connection with the case, besides the detention of three more people. Police said prohibitory orders had been imposed in some pockets of the state, adding that the girl’s autopsy reports are awaited. 

Meanwhile, a Special Investigation Team (SIT) comprising six police personnel has also been constituted to probe the case. In all, as many as four FIRs have been registered, including one pertaining to the rape and murder of the minor girl, as well as the lynching of a man, a police officer from Baruipur district said.

Section 163 imposed

Senior police officials in the know of the development said that raids are being conducted to apprehend the other accused, and that the prohibitory orders under Section 163 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS) have been enforced in some pockets of Baruipur and the adjoining areas. Large contingents of police have been deployed in the area to subside tensions and ensure the upkeep of law-and-order. 

The body of the girl was discovered in a pond on Sunday in Baruipur, which is situated in South 24 Parganas district. Her kin alleged that she was raped and murdered. In the aftermath of the incident, the locals blocked the roads and railway tracks, calling for justice.

CM takes cognisance, meets victim’s father

State’s Chief Minister (CM) Suvendu Adhikari took cognisance of the incident and called the victim’s father to assure justice. The girl’s father told the media, “The CM assured me that the culprits would be arrested and punished. I demanded that they should be hanged. He asked me to go to Bhabani Bhawan (State CID headquarters) on Tuesday. I am satisfied with the administration.”

TMC alleges Mamata Banerjee prevented from meeting victim’s family

Meanwhile, officials from the Trinamool Congress (TMC) party alleged on Sunday night that barricades were placed along with heavy police deployment outside the house of West Bengal’s former CM Mamata Banerjee, in a bid to prevent her from meeting the family of the minor girl. 

The TMC made the aforementioned allegations in a post on ‘X’.