KOLKATA — Trinamool Congress (TMC) General Secretary and Diamond Harbour MP Abhishek Banerjee on Monday launched a sharp attack against the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led administration in West Bengal, asserting that incidents of rape and minor sexual assault continue unabated despite consecutive police encounter killings in the state.
Banerjee’s remarks came following the encounter death of Dilip Roy, the prime accused in the rape and murder of a 12-year-old girl in Raiganj, North Dinajpur, during the intervening night of Sunday and Monday. This marked the third encounter killing of an accused in a minor’s rape and murder case in West Bengal since July.
Reacting to statements made earlier in the day by Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari justifying the Raiganj encounter, Banerjee highlighted in a social media post that an eight-year-old girl was allegedly abducted from a Kali Mandir in Bhatar, East Burdwan district, and raped on Monday itself.
“Encounter after encounter, yet rapes continue unabated. This is the grim reality of the BJP’s much advertised Jungle Raj model. In yet another horrifying incident, today again an eight-year-old girl was allegedly abducted from a Kali Mandir in Bhatar, Purba Bardhaman and raped,” wrote Banerjee, who is the nephew of former Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee.
Citing law and order statistics, the Diamond Harbour MP claimed that more than 2,500 rapes, 600 murders, and over 34,000 grave offences have been recorded in recent months.
“These are not just statistics. They represent shattered lives, broken families and a complete collapse of law and order,” he stated.
Demanding accountability from the state government, Banerjee called on the Chief Minister to address the deteriorating law and order situation.
“Suvendu Adhikari, who loudly demanded Mamata Banerjee’s resignation over the RG Kar tragedy, must now answer for his own failures. Where is his accountability? Where is his much-glorified encounter model when innocent children are being brutalised?” Banerjee questioned.
Alleging that BJP-backed “goons” were publicly assaulting police personnel and targeting the residences of elected representatives, Banerjee claimed that criminals appear emboldened while the administration stands exposed.
“If the Chief Minister had any sense of moral responsibility, he would resign instead of hiding behind hollow claims of strong governance. Is this the BJP’s dream of Sonar Bangla? A Bengal where even an eight-year-old child is not safe? The BJP promised Sonar Bangla. What it has delivered is Jungle Raj. Bengal deserves better,” he concluded.
