New Delhi [India], July 8 (ANI): Calling the police encounter of the prime accused in the alleged rape and murder of a 12-year-old girl in West Bengal’s Baruipur “absolutely unacceptable,” Trinamool Congress (TMC) MP Mahua Moitra on Wednesday alleged that the state was turning into “UP 2.0” where “the rule of law has become the rule of the jungle.”
Speaking to ANI, Moitra criticised the encounter of Prabhas Mondal and also took a swipe at the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party over their remarks made following the incident.
“What has happened today is absolutely unacceptable in any civilised country. We are not a bloodthirsty nation. This is not blood lust. We have a rule of law. It is very important for people to understand that this is not about divine justice. That today you accuse a person, you put him in custody and you shoot him dead that day is not justice. It is not justice for the victim. It is not justice for the parents. It is not justice for society, and it is not in keeping with the rule of law; this is the rule of the jungle,” she said.
Moitra argued that the accused Mondal was a crucial part of the ongoing investigation and said the police had a responsibility to ensure his safety while he remained in custody.
“You had one prime eyewitness, Prabhas Mondal. He was the person who led the police to the victim. He named other people. Yesterday, while in custody, he named somebody called Raja. The investigation is not yet complete. They had taken him to the reconstruction of the crime scene. It is the police’s duty to ensure that nothing happens to him,” she said.
The TMC MP said the accused should have been tried in a court of law and punished if found guilty.
“The trial is not over. If there is a speedy trial, there will be a fast-track trial. If he is found guilty, he will be punished in accordance with the law. That is the way the law is supposed to function and if he takes a revolver and runs away, I’m amazed to see the head of the Bengal BJP saying that if he is firing, they are not supposed to give him laddus.”
She added, “Yes, the police are not supposed to give him laddus. The police are supposed to shoot him below the knees. That is the rule. Police are not supposed to shoot him in the chest, in the back, or in the head and kill. These are the rules of encounter. Otherwise, there is no difference between a police and a riot mob. This is the rule of law.”
Alleging that such incidents weaken the justice system, Moitra said, “We cannot go to a system where there is no rule of law. And where is the justice? If there is no justice, why do we arrest anybody? Why do we not just pick up accused people and hang them in broad daylight and have people stone-pellet them? This is absolute nonsense. This is UP 2.0.”
Targeting the Suvendu Adhikari-led government, she asserted that Bengal has become UP 2.0, where the rule of law has become the rule of the jungle.
“Bengal has become UP 2.0, where the rule of law has become the rule of the jungle. And the people of Bengal should be very careful to applaud this kind of bloodthirst and bloodlust. How can any civilised society justify this? There is no rule of law. We live by the Constitution; we live by a rule of law. Our justice is supposed to be given by the legal system, by the BNSS. It is not supposed to be taken into the hands of either the police or a riot mob,” she added.
Earlier in the day, the primary suspect, Prabhas Mondal, in the alleged rape and murder of a 12-year-old girl in Baruipur, in South 24 Parganas, was killed in a police encounter, according to police officials.
According to the Baruipur Superintendent of Police (SP), the incident occurred during the reconstruction of the crime scene. The police said that during the process, Mondal attempted to snatch a service weapon from an officer and opened fire at the police team.
In the ensuing retaliatory fire from police, Mondal sustained critical injuries. He was rushed to the hospital but was declared dead by medical authorities, the SP stated. (ANI)
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