3 min readKolkataJul 13, 2026 06:37 PM IST
First published on: Jul 13, 2026 at 12:21 PM IST
The West Bengal Police arrested CPI(M) leader Mohammad Lahek Ali Sunday night for allegedly inciting violence in the wake of the rape and murder of a minor girl in Baruipur, taking the number of arrests in the case to 34.
The arrest comes soon after DSP (District Enforcement Branch) Santanu Mukhopadhyay was appointed as the new investigating officer in the case.
The police also named former Left MP Sujan Chakraborty in the mob violence incident.
Ali has been booked under several sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, including those related to rioting and promoting enmity, besides some other sections of the Prevention of Damage to Public Property Act, the Maintenance of Public Order Act, and the Railways Act.
Meanwhile, Ali, who was brought to a Baruipur court on Monday, told media persons outside the court premises, “All allegations are a lie, this is a politically motivated arrest. I was protesting, so to curb that, I was arrested.”
Reacting to Ali’s arrest, Chakraborty, who has also been named in the case, told media persons, “One of our leaders who was a candidate this time (in Baruipur West Assembly seat) has been arrested. This arrest is a politically motivated arrest. The government is trying to instill fear. He has been allegedly charged with lynching, but he went to the spot later, and this can be verified in the CCTV footage.”
While visiting Baruipur on Saturday, Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari had said, “People who were rejected in the elections are behind the mob violence. Radicals and the ultra-Left could also be behind this.”
Baruipur lynching case
On Saturday, two more people were arrested in the lynching case of Indrajit Mondal, taking the total number of arrests in the case to seven. The seven people arrested in this case are Farooq Sardar, Rajesh Sardar, Shariful Mallick, Sabiuddin Vaidya, Farid Sheikh, Abu Siddique Sardar, and Shamim Ali Khan.
After the body of the girl was recovered from a pond, a mob had vandalised government property, blocked roads, and lynched Indrajit Mondal. Though the police investigation later found that he had no role in the rape-murder incident.
Additionally, four people have been arrested in the gang-rape and murder case. Among them, one person died in an alleged police encounter.
The Criminal Investigation Department has also taken up the investigation into the encounter case.
Arrested CPI(M) leader Mohammad Lahek Ali. (Photo Credit: Special Arrangement) 
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