Kolkata, July 7 (IANS) The 26-year-old youth who was lynched by an angry mob in Baruipur, South 24 Parganas district, after being suspected of involvement in the alleged rape and murder of a 12-year-old girl, was innocent, West Bengal Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari said on Tuesday.

The youth, identified as Indrajit Tanti, was beaten to death on July 5 after tension erupted in the area following the recovery of the minor girl’s body from a pond. A mob, enraged over the incident, attacked Tanti, suspecting him to be one of the accused.

During his visit to Baruipur on Tuesday, the Chief Minister met senior police officials at the district police superintendent’s office and separately interacted with the families of both the victim and the lynched youth.

“After speaking to the family members of the lynched youth, I am convinced that he was innocent. The findings of the Special Investigation Team have also pointed in the same direction. Justice will be ensured in this case as well. Those responsible in either of the two cases will not be spared,” the Chief Minister told media persons after the meeting with the top official of the Baruipur District Police.

He also said that almost 200 people have been identified who had been involved in violence and disruptive activities like vandalism of public property, including rail tracks, over the recovery of the girl’s body.

“We will not spare them as well,” the Chief Minister said.

Without naming any particular political party, the Chief Minister said that some local politicians played a role in instigating violence over the tragic end of the minor girl.

“We have been able to identify some people who had been behind this instigation. The police have recovered several call records in the matter. The culprits behind instigating and also initiating violence and damaging public property will not be spared. We will ensure that such incidents are not repeated in the future,” the Chief Minister said.

He also said that a separate police outpost would be set up near the residence of the victim minor girl at Suryapur area in Baruipur. “I will come to Baruipur next week. By then, the outpost will be operational. The people will be able to see the actions taken by the administration in the entire sequence of events,” the Chief Minister said.

–IANS

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