Archive · 15 Sep 2026
Calcutta High Court Seeks Affidavit on Baruipur Encounter Investigation
The Calcutta High Court is examining how a police encounter happened in Baruipur.
The encounter involved Prabhas Mondal, who was accused in the rape and murder of an 11-year-old girl.
The girl disappeared on July 4 and was found dead the next day.
Police said Mondal grabbed an officer’s weapon, fired, and tried to escape.
Police said they then fired back and killed him.
A public interest case has asked for an impartial investigation.
The court ordered the West Bengal government to explain the investigation within two weeks.
It also ordered police to preserve records and CCTV footage.
The Calcutta High Court directed West Bengal to file an affidavit within two weeks.
The affidavit must detail the investigation into Prabhas Mondal’s encounter death.
The court ordered police to preserve documents, including CCTV footage, related to the incident.
Mondal was killed on July 8 while police reconstructed the alleged rape-murder scene.
The PIL petitioner must file a counter-affidavit within one week after the state’s filing.
- Who
- The Calcutta High Court, the West Bengal government, police, the PIL petitioner, and Prabhas Mondal, an accused in the case.
- What
- The court ordered the state to file an affidavit on the investigation into Mondal’s encounter death and directed police to preserve relevant records.
- When
- The court issued the directions on Tuesday, September 15; the encounter occurred on July 8.
- Where
- The incident concerns Baruipur, West Bengal; the girl’s body was recovered from a pond.
- Why
- The directions followed a PIL seeking an impartial investigation into the encounter and the underlying rape-murder case.
Call for Independent Scrutiny
Police Account of Encounter
Need for an impartial investigation
Call for Independent Scrutiny
The PIL petitioner is seeking an impartial probe into the encounter death.
Police Account of Encounter
The report does not give a separate response from the police or state to the PIL’s demand.
What happened during the encounter
Call for Independent Scrutiny
The court’s order to preserve documents and CCTV footage reflects the need to examine the incident’s circumstances.
Police Account of Encounter
Police said Mondal snatched an officer’s service weapon, fired a shot, and tried to flee, prompting retaliatory fire.
- Court
- Calcutta High Court division bench led by Justice Arijit Banerjee and comprising Justice Reetobroto Kumar Mitra
- State response deadline
- The West Bengal government must file an affidavit within two weeks
- PIL response
- The petitioner may file a counter-affidavit within one week after the state filing
- Next hearing
- The matter will be heard after three weeks
- Encounter date
- July 8
- Victim’s disappearance
- July 4, while she was going to buy a gift for a friend’s birthday
- Evidence preservation
- Police must preserve all documents, including CCTV footage, connected with the incident