The Calcutta High Court on Thursday directed the West Bengal Police to place on record a report explaining the circumstances leading to the encounter killing of one of the accused in the alleged rape and murder of a minor girl in Baruipur, South 24 Parganas.

Acting Chief Justice Tapabrata Chakraborty and Justice Partha Sarathi Sen passed the direction while hearing a writ petition questioning the legality of the police action in which the accused, Prabhas Mondal, was shot dead during the course of investigation. The Court sought a factual report from the police and fixed the matter for further consideration after the report is filed.

The public interest litigation was argued by Senior Advocate Bikash Ranjan Bhattacharya.

The petition challenges the police version that the accused attempted to escape after snatching the service revolver of a police officer during a crime scene reconstruction in the early hours of July 8, following which he was shot in retaliatory fire.

According to the police, Mondal had been taken to the spot where the body of the minor victim was allegedly recovered as part of the investigation. The police claimed that he suddenly snatched a service weapon from an officer, opened fire while attempting to flee, and was thereafter shot by the police. He was taken to hospital where he was declared dead.

During the hearing, the High Court did not express any opinion on the merits of the encounter. Instead, it called upon the State to explain the sequence of events through an official report, indicating that the factual circumstances surrounding the incident required judicial scrutiny before any further orders could be considered.

The encounter had triggered considerable political controversy in the State. While the police maintained that the firing was in self-defence after the accused attempted to escape with a service weapon, opposition parties questioned the circumstances of the encounter and demanded an independent investigation.

The alleged rape and murder of the minor girl in Baruipur had sparked widespread public outrage across West Bengal. Mondal was one of the principal accused arrested in connection with the offence before being killed during the police operation on July 8.

Case No: WPA (P) 366 of 2026