Kolkata, July 8 (IANS) The death of Pravas Mondal, the first of the four accused to be arrested in the alleged rape and murder of a 12-year-old minor girl at Baruipur in South 24 Parganas district of West Bengal, in a police encounter on early Wednesday morning, has evoked mixed reactions from the different political parties in the state.

Trinamool Congress Lok Sabha member Mahua Moitra, a prominent face in the faction led by former West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee and her nephew, Abhishek Banerjee, has issued a social media statement condemning the encounter.

“Baruipur rape murder accused Prabhash Mondal killed in encounter! What is going on @WBPolice? Bengalis please welcome new Bengal- Uttar Pradesh 2.0. @BJP4Bengal has no government. This is jungle law,” read Moitra’s social media statement.

However, an opposite opinion was expressed by Trinamool Congress legislator and former West Bengal legislator, Siuli Saha, a prominent face in the rebel faction led by expelled party legislator, Ritabrata Banerjee.

“There is a provision for legal encounters. If a criminal attacks the police while fleeing, then he can be encountered. We are trusting what the state government is saying. We always want the rapists to be punished to the fullest extent. However, at the same time I feel that encounters should always be controlled by the state administration,” Saha said.

Giving his reactions on the encounter, Bharatiya Janata Party’s state president in West Bengal and Rajya Sabha member, Samik Bhattacharya, said the development proved the “zero-tolerance” policy of the current state government in such matters.

“This incident proved that no criminal would be spared and no one would escape the clutches of law just because of the blessings of politicians,” Bhattacharya said.

The state Congress president in West Bengal, Suvankar Sarkar, demanded a high-level probe into the encounter incident. According to him, justice should be done following a proper trial, ensuring the conviction of the accused.

Pravas Mondol was taken to the crime scene on Tuesday night to reconstruct the incident. There, he allegedly snatched a service rifle from one of the police personnel escorting him and tried to escape. While the police personnel chased him, according to police, Mondal fired at them from the police rifle that he snatched. The cops resorted to counter-firing, in which Mondal was also shot. The injured accused was taken to a local hospital, where he was declared dead.

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(Written with inputs from IANS)