Bengal: 3 held for minor’s rape and murder in Baruipur, BJP leader detained for helping suspect flee

Three persons have been arrested in connection with the alleged rape and murder of a minor girl in Baruipur in West Bengal’s South 24 Parganas district, The Hindu reported on Tuesday.

A local Bharatiya Janata Party functionary has also been detained on allegations of helping one of the suspects temporarily escape, The Telegraph reported.

On Sunday, the 12-year-old girl’s body was recovered from a sack in a pond in the Surjyapur area, a day after she was reported missing.

The case was initially registered as a missing person complaint on Saturday after her father reported her disappearance. Following the preliminary investigation, police added charges of rape, gang rape, murder, destruction of evidence and provisions of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act, an unidentified police officer told the newspaper.

The incident then triggered widespread protests, with demonstrators blocking roads and a railway line, burning tyres and vandalising police vehicles, The Telegraph reported.

During the unrest, residents allegedly caught two suspects and assaulted them. A 26-year-old man suspected of being associated with the accused was also allegedly lynched by a mob, The Telegraph reported.

The police have also detained Santanu Mondal, a local BJP leader, on allegations of helping one of the suspects escape, The Telegraph reported.

According to the police, Mondal intervened after residents caught the two suspects and took them to a police outpost. Officers...

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