Ratna Debnath, the mother of the RG Kar rape and murder victim and BJP MLA from Panihati, reacted on Monday to the alleged rape and murder of a 12-year-old girl in West Bengal's Baruipur.
Speaking to reporters, Debnath blamed successive state governments for the increasing incidence of such crimes. She alleged that both the Left Front and the Trinamool Congress had encouraged gambling and alcohol consumption among young people instead of focusing on education and healthcare, and said the consequences of those policies were now becoming evident.
"It is extremely painful, especially for me. I spent the entire night in tears because another family has had to go through the same tragedy," she said.
Her remarks came a day after she appealed to the BJP government to expedite justice in the RG Kar case. Debnath said two months had passed since Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari assured her that her daughter would receive justice within seven days of the BJP assuming power.
While expressing confidence that the government would ensure strict action against those responsible, Debnath condemned the lynching of the main suspect. She said the public should not have taken the law into their own hands and should instead have handed the accused over to the police.
"After the RG Kar incident, public anger has become so intense that they did not spare him. They may have feared that if he was handed over to the police, he could escape or something else might happen. That is why they killed him. But such actions are not justified," she said, referring to the public outrage following the 2024 RG Kar case.
Debnath also dismissed allegations that a local BJP leader was involved in the incident. She claimed that several Trinamool Congress workers had begun presenting themselves as BJP supporters after the party's recent electoral victory.
She also defended the police decision to prevent former West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee from visiting the area after the incident.
"The police acted correctly by stopping her. What purpose would her visit have served? She would likely have announced compensation for the victim's family while protecting the accused, as she has allegedly done for years," Debnath said.
Drawing comparisons with the RG Kar case, she further accused Banerjee of failing to ensure justice despite having previously held the health portfolio.
"In my daughter's case as well, why was justice delayed? Why were the accused protected? Why was public money spent defending a few civic volunteers? People have lost faith in such actions. Those responsible must be punished," she said.
The incident occurred in the Surjyapur area of Baruipur.
According to police, the 12-year-old girl had left home on Saturday afternoon to purchase a birthday gift for a friend but never returned. Her family alleged that four individuals abducted her and claimed they searched for her throughout the night. They also accused the police of failing to respond adequately to their requests for assistance.
On Sunday morning, local residents allegedly apprehended one of the suspects, who reportedly revealed the location of the girl's body. Acting on this information, residents recovered the body, which had been stuffed inside a sack and dumped near a pond in the Surjyapur Haat area.
Soon after the body was recovered, angry family members and local residents allegedly assaulted the accused, who later died from his injuries, police said.
Police said local BJP worker Shantanu Mandal has been detained, while four people have been arrested in connection with the girl's death.
The case soon acquired political overtones after the Trinamool Congress alleged that Mamata Banerjee had effectively been placed under "house arrest" to prevent her from travelling to Baruipur to meet the victim's family. Meanwhile, Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari spoke to the victim's father over the phone and assured him that swift justice would be delivered.
