Bengal rape-murder accused's encounter sparks political row: BJP hails ‘divine justice’, TMC calls it ‘jungle law’
Times of India | 8 July 2026
KOLKATA: West Bengal’s political battle intensified on Wednesday over the alleged encounter killing of one of the main accused in the Baruipur rape-murder case. BJP is calling the move “divine justice” while the TMC is terming it an example of “jungle law”.
“The demon Prabhas Mondal, who raped and killed a girl in Baruipur, was killed in police firing during the early hours of Tuesday, after he tried to flee with firearms. Divine Justice!” BJP spokesperson Debjit Sarkar said in a post on X.
TMC leader Mahua Moitra questioned the role of the West Bengal Police, which said the accused was killed in retaliatory firing in self-defence.
In a social media post, Moitra said, “Baruipur rape murder accused Prabhash Mondal killed in encounter! What is going on @WBPolice? Bengalis please welcome new Bengal-Uttar Pradesh 2.0. BJP4Bengal is no government. This is jungle law.”
Her remarks came after police claimed that one of the prime accused in the rape and murder of a 12-year-old girl was killed after he allegedly snatched a firearm from a policeman and tried to escape during a crime scene reconstruction exercise.
The encounter, which is reportedly the first such police action since the BJP government assumed office in the state in May, came amid public outrage over the crime, which had triggered violent protests.
Senior TMC MP Saugata Roy also criticised the encounter.
“I condemn the encounter death of the Baruipur accused Prabhas Mondal. It shows that the government has no control over the police. This is the worst form of police brutality,” he said.
“Yesterday both the chief minister and the DGP were at Baruipur, and the latter was asked to give a final report within 72 hours. Within that period, an encounter death has occurred. The DGP should revisit the place and submit a report on the encounter death. This is the Yogi model which is being followed in Bengal with law and order collapsing,” he added.
Rejecting the criticism, BJP’s Bengal president Samik Bhattacharya said the TMC had no moral authority to make such allegations as the people had “already rejected them”.
“No criminal or rapist will be spared. Before the elections, the BJP had promised the women of West Bengal - ‘Bhoy Out, Bhorosa In’. This was the message of the PM. We are doing what we had said in our manifesto. The current state government, led by CM Suvendu Adhikari, has taken the necessary steps to ensure zero tolerance,” he told reporters.
The BJP also renewed its demand to reopen the 2013 Kamduni gang rape and murder case, saying justice in the case remains incomplete, news agency PTI reported.
“The previous TMC government had held the probe in such a manner so as to please a certain community; the prime accused in the Kamduni incident were released. The Kamduni victim was denied justice. The times have changed. So we have urged the government to reopen the Kamduni file,” Bhattacharya said.
Mousumi Kayal, a prominent face of the Kamduni movement, welcomed the encounter, calling it the “beginning of Asur Vadh” (slaying of the demon).
“We have been fighting for justice for the last 13 years, but the previous TMC government stood with the rapists and murderers and released them from jail. The action of the new government has brought us solace,” she said.
“The investigation must be conducted swiftly, the confessions of the accused must be taken, and then they should be encountered. This is justice. This is the true punishment for rapists,” she added.