A video purportedly showing a conversation between police personnel and two suspects in the Baruipur rape and murder case has raised uncomfortable questions.
The 77-second clip was shot at a place that looks like the police outpost from where one of the accused allegedly fled. Ananda Sardar was arrested a day later. The Telegraph has not independently verified the contents of the clip.
The two suspects are seen blaming each other for implicating the other. They also mention a third person, “Raja”, who is also identified as a party-r chhele (party member).
A cop tells them that Raja told the police he was somewhere else.
The Trinamool Congress already shared the clip on social media, accusing the police of shielding Raja, who the party said was a BJP worker.
One of the accused, in a red round-neck T-shirt, is squatted on the floor. The other, bare-bodied and wearing a soiled white dhoti, is standing. A policeman is seated on a camp cot. Others in uniform are in the vicinity.
The clip suggests a degree of familiarity between the cops and the suspects, said some of the residents who were part of the search team.
The clip also suggests a lack of urgency in the cops. If anything, the mood is informal. The suspects are seen raising their voices to argue more than once. The man in a red T-shirt even gets on his feet to make his point.
The police have been accused of negligence in the case. The girl had been missing since Saturday afternoon, and the body was found on Sunday morning. A team led by an officer of the Baruipur police station reportedly reached the spot around 10.30am on Sunday, some three hours after the body was found.
The clip begins with the seated suspect telling the cops that the other accused knows a third person and that they “drink together every day at the forest (possible reference to a thicket)”.
The bare-bodied man says, “he means Raja”. A policeman interrupts, saying, “he (the man in red T-shirt) is saying you were also there”.
The bare-bodied man “swears” he was not present, prompting a cop to ask how he then knew that Raja was there.
“I saw them walking together (Raja and the man in red T-shirt). We have CCTV cameras there. We live by the pond. See the footage... You will get to know everything. Who was there, who wasn’t?” says the man.
Another cop asks him how he knew about the content of the footage. “Did you check it?” the policeman asks.
“I did not check it. I am asking you to check the cameras. You can see for yourselves,” the bare-bodied man replies.
Another cop voice then asks: “Where did they take (the girl)?”
The bare-bodied man says, “he was there (pointing to the red T-shirt) with Raja, son of Bapi, who drives an auto”.
A cop then says: “But Raja said he was at another place”.
Another cop says: “Give us permission to bring the two of them.”
A third cop’s voice says, “Our going will not work. Sirs have to go.”
A commotion follows, with the two suspects arguing again and implicating the other.
The All India Trinamool Congress posted the clip on its official X account.
“Police appears to be particularly protecting an accused named ‘Raja’. Why? He is allegedly a @BJP4Bengal worker. Police, under the instructions of the ruling party, appear to be protecting the accused and deliberately overlooking key details pertaining to the case,” the caption says.
A senior officer of Bengal police attached to the case said: “Everything is under investigation. We are looking into the role of all police personnel who were on duty that day.”
