Encounter after encounter: Why Suvendu govt has given ‘free hand’ to police in crimes against women | Political Pulse News
An accused in the rape-murder of a minor girl was killed in a police encounter in Raiganj in West Bengal’s Uttar Dinajpur district Monday, which marked the fourth incident since May, when the Suvendu Adhikari-led BJP government took charge of the state.
Three of these encounter killings involved accused in rape-murder cases, while the fourth one was an accused in a murder case.
Led by Chief Minister Adhikari and his ministers, the BJP government has staunchly defended the police firing in these encounters, calling them “self-defence when attacked by the accused”, and maintaining that it has given the police a “free hand” to deal with perpetrators of crimes against women.
Supporting police action in the Raiganj incident, Adhikari said, “If someone tries to kill the police, will the police throw rasgullas? Is it the police’s job to keep guns in their pockets? The police have dealt with it in accordance with law. The police were attacked, and they did what they had to do.”
The CM also said, “The government has given the police a free hand in certain cases. They need not wait for permission from their superiors to act. There is absolutely zero tolerance towards rape and murder, drug trafficking and infiltration.”
With reactions to these encounters from the Opposition parties and human rights bodies appearing to be “muted” and public mood seen as “positive”, the BJP government has toughened its stand over the controversial issue.
Four encounters in four months
In Raiganj incident, Dilip Roy, an accused in the rape-murder of a 12-year-old girl, was shot dead in a police encounter near the Bengal-Bihar border.
Barely two months after the BJP came to power in Bengal, on July 8, Prabhas Mondal, accused of raping and killing a 13-year-old girl, was shot dead at Baruipur in South 24 Parganas. Police claimed he tried to snatch an officer’s firearm and was killed in retaliatory firing.
On October 27, Prahlad Das, an accused in the rape-murder of a 13-year-old, was shot dead in Gaighata in North 24 Parganas. Police claimed he snatched an officer’s revolver and opened fire when he was taken to the incident spot after midnight for crime reconstruction, and was killed in retaliatory firing. The same day, at Samserganj in Murshidabad, Samiul Sheikh, accused of murdering BJP worker Sujit Mondal, was killed in an encounter with the police. Sheikh, police claimed, was shot dead when he tried to snatch a policeman’s weapon.
BJP hails police
In the wake of the Raiganj encounter, several BJP leaders, including ministers, have yet again come out to rally round the police action. Union Minister Sukanta Majumder said, “State government has said from the first day that they will have zero tolerance towards crimes against women – and police are taking strong action in such cases. During the previous Trinamool Congress (TMC) regime we haven’t seen such prompt action.”
State Tourism Minister Shankar Ghosh said, “This is the outcome of a strong government’s stand on crimes against women. However, what situation prevailed for the police to take such an action, that should be evaluated. Only after that, we can make a conclusion.”
After the double encounters on October 27, state Urban Development and Municipal Affairs Minister Agnimitra Paul posted a poem, titled “Encounter”, on Facebook.
In the opening lines of her poem, written in Bangla, Paul called for an end to crimes and said people should be able to live in peace. She expressed hope that the “darkness of fear” would disappear and that those responsible for public safety would prevent the recurrence of various atrocities.
In its second stanza, Paul wrote that there could be no compromise with injustice and that firm action against crime was necessary.
In the concluding lines of her poem, Paul called for the state to stand by the people and for peace to return to every household. She also said there could be no compromise on public safety and that firmness was necessary to curb crimes.
State Minister Moumita Biswas Mishra also backed the police action, describing it as a reflection of the change the BJP had promised in its 2026 poll campaign. “This is what change in Bengal looks like. This is the change people wanted,” she claimed.
Oppn’s mixed response
While remaining guarded, a section of the Opposition has raised questions over the circumstances surrounding the police action in the encounters. Their reactions have remained mixed, though.
After the Raiganj incident, the Mamata Banerjee-led TMC’s MP Abhishek Banerjee, in an X post, said, “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 in Bhatar, Purba Bardhaman and raped.”
However, Mamata-TMC MLA and spokesman Kunal Ghosh, said, “Those who commit such crime has no right to live in the society. Incidents of encounters while in police custody have been seen earlier as well. In this particular case, it is not yet clear whether the accused was in custody. However, we live in a democratic country. It would have been more appropriate to pursue legal proceedings against such a criminal and impose the death penalty.”
Senior Congress leader Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury said, “The offender should be given the harshest punishment. But why is the Uttar Pradesh model being imported into this state by staging the same script? Even today, women and minors are not safe in this state. Instead of showing the will to curb crime, only an attempt is being made to fool people.”
CPI(M) central committee member Sujan Chakraborty said, “We have seen such encounters in Gujarat and UP. Now, it has been started in Bengal. Giving free hand to police, CM Adhikari is pushing the state towards anarchy.”
Mamata govt’s ‘failings’
The previous Mamata Banerjee-led TMC government had come under attack over several cases of heinous crimes against women during its tenure, including the August 2024 R G Kar rape-murder case, and its alleged failures in tackling them.
The R G Kar outrage led to public protests across the state, with the Mamata government drawing fire for its “lapses” in its investigations. As the then principal Opposition, the BJP had made it a major issue, making women safety and law and order its key planks in the 2026 elections that it clinched by a landslide.
Then CM Mamata also landed in controversies over her reactions to some of these incidents, including her comments on rape victims for which she was accused of “victim-shaming”. Following the October 2025 gangrape of a medical student in Durgapur, she said, “Especially girl children at night time… they should not be allowed to come outside. They have to protect themselves also,” asking “How did she come out at 12.30 at night?”
In Kolkata’s Park Street gangrape case in 2012, when the victim reported the horror, Mamata dismissed the incident as a “sajano ghotona” (concocted story), drawing condemnation from various quarters.
