Two additional individuals have been apprehended in relation to the lynching of 26-year-old Indrajit Tanti on July 5 in Baruipur, South 24 Parganas district. This brings the total number of arrests in the case to seven. The two new suspects will appear in a district court in South 24 Parganas, where the public prosecutor will request their police custody.
The seven individuals arrested in connection with the case include Farooq Sardar, Rajesh Sardar, Shariful Mallick, Sabiuddin Vaidya, Farid Sheikh, Abu Siddique Sardar, and Shamim Ali Khan. Charges have been filed against them under relevant sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), 2023, for offenses such as unlawful assembly, rioting, obstructing a public servant’s work, causing harm to a public person, and murder by lynching.
Authorities suggest that the number of arrests in this case may rise in the upcoming days. Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari visited Baruipur and presented a compensation check of Rs 25 lakh to the family of the deceased youth, who had been cleared of involvement in the alleged rape and murder of a minor girl by the police.
Additionally, the Chief Minister announced a job as a civic volunteer in the state police for the victim’s elder brother. He also implied that individuals rejected in the recent West Bengal assembly elections were linked to the mob lynching incident. Police have registered three cases related to the Baruipur events, including the alleged rape and murder of the minor girl, the lynching of the youth, and the subsequent violence in the area.
Investigations are ongoing, with 42 individuals already arrested in connection with the violence. In the case of the minor girl’s rape and murder, four suspects have been apprehended, with one of them, Pravas Mondal, being killed in a police encounter while attempting to escape custody by seizing a cop’s firearm.
