Kolkata: “My daughter was within a fully secure place,” said Ratna Debnath, mother of the RG Kar Medical College rape victim and West Bengal Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MLA, on the Baruipur minor’s gangrape and murder case, asking people not to link her daughter to the latter.
Debnath said the alleged gangrape and murder of a Muslim 11-year-old girl in South 24 Parganas’ Baruipur was a result of the seeds sown by the previous Trinamool Congress (TMC) government.
“I strongly condemn this and express severe detestation,” she told reporters on Wednesday, July 8. “But my daughter’s incident is not the same as this incident. I will tell you why.”
The newly appointed BJP MLA explained that her daughter was in a “completely secure place” and that she was unsure whether “this girl was at home or outdoors, but my daughter was within a fully secured space.”
According to Debnath, Bengal now has a new government that would progress the Baruipur case as it “also does not support these things.” TMC had planted poisonous trees, she said, asking rhetorically, “That won’t bear sweet fruits, right?” The former chief minister, Mamata Banerjee, ruined Bengal’s health and education and the Baruipir case is the consequence of those actions, she claimed.
She demanded strict punishment for the perpetrators in the Baruipur case. Noting that one of the accused had been lynched by the locals, she said, “We won’t do that and abide by the law. But we will not let those who committed such crimes get away either.” Debnath said that the new Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari‘s judgment would be right in serving justice.
Baruipur minor’s gangrape, murder
On July 5, the 11-year-old’s body was recovered from a pond, a day after she went missing, having left her house to buy a gift for her friend. The body was found stuffed in a sack, with her family alleging that she was gang-raped and subsequently murdered. As the news spread, angry locals protested, blocked roads, burnt tyres and vandalised police vehicles. The situation turned violent when one of the accused was reportedly beaten to death by a mob.
Several arrests have been made since the formation of a Special Investigating Team (SIT) to probe the matter. However, on Wednesday, July 8, the prime accused, Prabhas Mondal, was shot dead in an alleged police encounter when he tried to escape from custody.
The minor’s father had earlier said he was “satisfied with the administration” after talking to the CM.
Incident will leave parents with a void: Debnath
In a separate interview, Debnath said that the parents have to witness sorrow due to the “brutal, heartbreaking incident” that will leave them with a void. Taking a dig at TMC once again, she added, “This TMC and the previous government, especially TMC, focused only on games, fairs and such things. That’s why such incidents are happening.”
In August 2024, the rape-murder of a 31-year-old doctor inside the seminar hall of RG Kar Medical College and Hospital had triggered nationwide outrage and was prolonged by doctors and civil society groups across the state.
The case had become a major political flashpoint in the state, with the BJP accusing the Mamata Banerjee government of shielding those responsible, while the TMC rejected the allegations.
The victim’s mother, in March, during her announcement of joining the bypolls, said she was entering politics to ensure justice for her daughter and to remove the TMC government from power. She had alleged that the previous state government had tried to obstruct the investigation and justice process in her daughter’s case.
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