The West Bengal police arrested Lahek Ali, a local CPI(M) leader, from Baruipur in South 24 Parganas district on Sunday night in connection with the July 5 lynching and vandalism following the rape and murder of a 12-year-old girl, police officials aware of the details said.
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“Ali was arrested as a prime suspect in the lynching and vandalism. It is suspected that he instigated the mob. He will be produced in court on Monday,” a district police officer said, requesting anonymity.
Ali was the CPI(M) candidate from the Baruipur West seat in the recent assembly polls but Biman Banerjee of the Trinamool Congress won it. The Bharatiya Janata Party came second in the race.
Around 40 people were arrested earlier in separate cases linked to the minor girl’s death, the lynching of Indrajit Mondal, a local resident, and the destruction of private and government property during the mob violence.
One of the suspects in the rape and murder was killed in an encounter with police when he allegedly snatched a revolver from an officer and tried to escape after he was taken to the crime scene around the midnight of July 7 for a recreation of the crime, police said. The CID is probing the encounter.
CPI(M) central committee member Sujan Chakraborty alleged that Ali’s arrest was politically motivated.
He said, “A lot of misinformation was spread against Ali since the girl’s death. If someone is declared guilty even before arrest then it becomes apparent that the investigation has been influenced. But we will fight it out legally.”
Ali was arrested a day after West Bengal chief minister Suvendu Adhikari said on Saturday that those who lost the election could be involved in the lynching.
“Indrajit Mondal was targeted and murdered because of his name and identity. I cannot call it just a case of mob-lynching. Some people rejected by voters in the election played a key in inciting the violence. Radical and fundamentalist groups could also be behind this. I am not ruling that out,” Adhikari told the media in Baruipur on Saturday while visiting Mondal’s family.
The minor girl went missing on July 4. Her body was recovered from a pond a day later. Police investigation and autopsy report showed that she was raped and murdered. Following the incident, a mob lynched Mondal. Adhikari earlier said police investigation confirmed that Mondal was not at all involved in the rape and murder of the minor.
“We cannot bring Indrajit back to life but his killers will be punished. Those who tortured and killed my little sister will also face the consequences as per law,” the chief minister said on Saturday.
