Chief minister Suvendu Adhikari on Tuesday accused Opposition parties of instigating violence that erupted in Baruipur following the rape and murder of the minor girl and asserted that those who fuelled the unrest had been identified and would be “taught an appropriate lesson”.

Suvendu appeared to target the Trinamool Congress and the CPM without naming the two parties.

He was speaking to reporters in Baruipur after meeting the victim’s family members, as well as those of the youth who was lynched by an enraged mob, whom he described as “innocent”.

“There are around 200 persons identified for the mob violence, and none will be spared. At the same time, the political people who incited violence from behind will not be spared either. Some of them were rejected by the people in the election, some of them lost power, and some increased their score from zero to one,” Suvendu said.

He alleged that “radical” and “anti-national” elements had also played a role in provoking the violence.

“At the same time, the radical and anti-national forces who incited violence from behind in Baruipur have been identified. The STF has collected their call records and digital data according to the order of the DGP. The government will sue them and ensure they are taught a proper lesson,” he said.

Reiterating the government’s stand, Suvendu maintained that neither those responsible for the crime against the minor girl nor those who later took the law into their own hands by lynching the youth, vandalising public property, attacking police personnel and damaging railway infrastructure would escape legal action.

The Trinamool Congress accused the BJP government of shielding a key suspect in the Baruipur case. Sharing a purported video, the authenticity of which The Telegraph did not verify, of a conversation on its X handle, the party alleged that the police were deliberately protecting a man identified as “Raja” because of his alleged links with the BJP.

“In the horrific #Baruipur incident, police appear to be particularly protecting an accused named ‘Raja’. Police, acting under the instructions of the ruling party, appear to be protecting the accused and deliberately overlooking key details about the case. What is going on in Bengal? Where is the state headed?” the Trinamool said in its post.

Earlier in the day, a rebel faction of the Trinamool Congress led by MLA Ritabrata Banerjee and Jadavpur MP Sayoni Ghosh visited the victim girl’s family in Baruipur, even as sections of party supporters shouted abusive slogans against them.

Sayoni, who recently joined 19 other rebel MPs in formally extending support to the NDA, praised the steps taken by Suvendu while criticising what she described as the lackadaisical approach of the erstwhile Trinamool Congress government in dealing with crimes against women.

CPM state secretary Md Salim said the Baruipur episode reflected a complete erosion of public faith in the police administration and exposed its failure to enforce the rule of law despite the change in government.

“The chief minister had made several promises after assuming power, including ensuring the rule of law. But sheer negligence on the part of the police has undermined those commitments. The victim’s family lodged a missing diary, but the police, following its usual practice, did not take it seriously. Though the government has changed, the habits of the police have remained the same,” Salim said.

Calling for structural reforms in the police force instead of blaming political opponents, he added: “The government should examine why the police have not changed their approach. The police should not remain loyal to the ruling party. The force needs reforms in its functioning. We continue to carry a colonial legacy.”

Describing the lynching of the youth as a manifestation of “anarchy and lawlessness”, Salim said it demonstrated the collapse of public confidence in law enforcement.

“The anger among people is growing.... The main reason is police inaction, something we have been highlighting since the Trinamool regime. Now the BJP government is on the verge of becoming Trinamool-II,” Salim said.

Salim’s colleague in the CPM, Sujan Chakraborty, was even more blunt in his criticism of Suvendu for attacking the Opposition.

“Though the chief minister vowed to take proper action against the criminals, he simultaneously attempted to undermine the spontaneous public agitation by giving the people’s grief a communal and political angle. This was not right,” said Chakraborty.