An 11-year-old girl from Baruipur, West Bengal, went missing on the evening of July 4, 2026, after stepping out to buy a birthday gift for a friend. A CCTV captured her walking behind one of the accused, identified as Prabhas Mondal. Her family lodged a missing complaint at Baruipur police station around 9 PM, but said that police did not launch an immediate search or thoroughly review footage. The next morning, on July 5, her mutilated body was recovered from a pond in the Surjyapur Haat area, stuffed in a sack. Post-mortem findings revealed signs of gangr*pe, brutal assault including bite and scratch marks, head injury, and that she was alive when thrown into the water, with drowning and bleeding contributing to her death.
The discovery triggered massive protests by locals and the victim’s family, who blocked roads and a railway line, demanding swift justice. In the ensuing anger, a mob lynched a man (Indrajit Mondol, an auto-rickshaw driver) suspecting him of involvement after CCTV identifications. The family claimed one accused, Ananda Sardar (a rickshaw-van puller known to them), was involved, and criticized police inaction.
Police formed a six-member SIT, arrested key accused Ananda Sardar (taking total arrests to three) and detained others for questioning. Investigation continues using CCTV, mobile data, and forensics, amid ongoing demands for capital punishment for the perpetrators and accountability for initial police response.
