Bengal: Man accused in Baruipur minor’s rape-murder killed in alleged gunfight with police

One of the persons accused in the alleged rape and murder of a minor in West Bengal’s Baruipur was killed in an alleged gunfight with the police, ANI reported on Wednesday.

“While the crime scene was being reconstructed, he [Prabhas Mondal] attempted to snatch a weapon from the police and open fire at them,” the news agency quoted the district superintendent of police as saying.

The police fired at Prabhash Mondal “in retaliation”, which hit him, the officer said. He was declared dead at the hospital.

Prabhash Mondal was among the three persons arrested in connection with the alleged rape and murder of an 11-year-old girl in Baruipur town in South 24 Parganas district.

The body of the girl 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.

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

During the unrest, residents allegedly caught two suspects and assaulted them. A 26-year-old man suspected of being...

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