Kolkata, July 9 -- In a major development in the Baruipur encounter, the investigation into the incident has been handed over to the state Criminal Investigation Department (CID), even as police on Thursday arrested 22 more people in connection with the violence that erupted in Baruipur following the recovery of a teenage girl's body.
Investigators have also found that encounter victim Prabhas Mondal, identified as the prime accused in the rape and murder case, had allegedly conducted recce for several days before carrying out the crime.
According to sources, the Special Investigation Team (SIT) has found that Prabhas followed the victim for at least 10 consecutive days to map her daily route and movements. During the interrogation of co-accused Ananda Sardar, Dibakar Sardar and Kabir Molla, police learnt that after Prabhas brought the girl to a shanty where the trio was waiting, they allegedly tied her hands.
When the teenager resisted, Ananda allegedly struck her on the neck, rendering her unconscious. The four accused then allegedly sexually assaulted her, one after another. After the assault, they allegedly stuffed the victim into a sack and dumped her in a pond while she was still alive, investigators said.
Police are continuing to interrogate the three surviving accused to reconstruct the sequence of events. Investigators have, so far, concluded that Ananda was Prabhas' key associate in the crime.
Meanwhile, during overnight raids, police arrested 22 more accused in connection with the subsequent violence in Baruipur, taking the total number of arrests to 40.
During his visit to the Baruipur Superintendent of Police's office on Tuesday, Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari had said those involved in the violence would not be spared. He had added that police had identified around 200 people allegedly involved in the unrest.
Police have started scouting for a site to set up a permanent outpost in the Suryapur area, in line with the Chief Minister's assurance to residents. Although a police camp already exists in Suryapur, it is used primarily for maintaining law and order. Residents currently have to travel around 10 km to the Baruipur police station to lodge complaints. Once the outpost becomes operational, complaints can be registered there and investigations initiated promptly.
Published by HT Digital Content Services with permission from Millennium Post.