CPI(M) leader Lahek Ali remanded to police custody in Baruipur violence after rape-murder of minor

Baruipur (WB), Jul 13 (PTI) A court here on Monday remanded CPI(M) leader Lahek Ali, arrested for allegedly instigating mob lynching of a man following the rape and murder of an 11-year old girl in Baruipur, to eight days' police custody, rejecting a bail plea of the accused. Special public prosecutor Bivas Chatterjee, seeking 14-days' police custody of Ali, stated before the court that there is prima facie evidence against him for making instigatory statements, which led to the mob lynching of a man and violence, including destruction of railway property. Rejecting Ali's bail plea, the Baruipur court judge remanded him to police custody for eight days. The CPI(M) leader's lawyer sought bail for Ali, claiming that the charges were concocted and politically motivated. Ali was arrested on Sunday night in connection with the violence that broke out during the protest over the rape and murder of the girl at Surjyapur in South 24 Parganas district. The unrest followed the recovery of the minor’s body from a pond on July 5, a day after the girl went missing when she went out to buy a gift for her friend's birthday. Ali had contested the 2026 West Bengal assembly elections from the Baruipur Paschim constituency as the CPI(M) candidate. PTI AMR RBT