Biplab Kumar Deb, former Tripura chief minister and a current BJP MP, on Monday said that Kolkata Police commissioner Manoj Kumar Verma had ensured that the police possessed all necessary evidences and documents to secure capital punishment for the accused in the South Calcutta Law College gang rape case.

Deb met Verma on Monday as part of a four-member BJP “fact-finding committee”. The other three members were former Union ministers Meenakshi Lekhi and Satpal Singh, and BJP Rajya Sabha member Manan Kumar Mishra. The committee is expected to submit a detailed report to BJP national president J.P. Nadda soon.

“We met the commissioner, who assured us that they have all the necessary documents and evidence in the case and will ensure capital punishment for those found guilty. I am saying this because they cannot later claim that any specific piece of evidence was missing or not found after a month,” said Deb at a press conference after the meeting.

The committee held the Trinamool Congress responsible for the gang rape, alleging that the party had employed the prime accused, Monojit Mishra, without conducting a police verification. The committee members, along with the BJP’s state president Sukanta Majumdar and general secretary Agnimitra Paul, also visited the law college and spoke with the institution’s vice-principal. However, they were initially prevented from entering the premises.

The TMC responded with a scathing attack on the BJP, claiming that sending a “fact-finding” team to Bengal was nothing more than a political ploy.

“Under Biplab Deb’s rule, several complaints of rape and murder were reported in Tripura. Another member, Satpal Singh, had said after the Hathras tragedy that preventing rape is not the job of the police or the government,” said TMC spokesperson Arup Chakraborty, who also criticised the remarks made by the other two committee members.

“Despite all three accused being arrested within 12 hours of the incident, the BJP is now coming to ‘find the facts’,” he added.