The Calcutta High Court on Thursday directed Baruipur police to submit a detailed report on the circumstances of the encounter killing of Prabhash Mondal, the main accused in the rape and murder of a minor girl in Baruipur.
A Division Bench of Justices Tapabrata Chakraborty and Partha Sarathi Chattopadhyay passed the order while hearing a public interest litigation filed by advocate Shiladitya Rakshit. The plea claimed that police statements about the incident were fabricated.
The encounter occurred around 12.45 a.m. on July 8 when police took Mondal to the site for crime scene reconstruction. Police stated that the accused snatched a service weapon, fired at the team and attempted to flee. An autopsy found two bullets in the body fired by Inspector Arghya Mondal.
Senior advocate Bikash Ranjan Bhattacharya argued that police failed to ensure adequate security and questioned the late-night timing amid adverse weather. Advocate General Rajdeep Majumder said police acted in self-defence and registered a suo motu FIR, with the matter now under Criminal Investigation Department probe.
The court will hear the case again on August 18. Preliminary investigation indicated the accused abducted and raped the girl before throwing her into a pond, with her body recovered on July 5. Four others have been arrested in the case.
