In a show of strength that filled the streets of Baruipur with a sea of red flags, the Communist Party of India (Marxist) organised a powerful protest march on July 25, 2026, raising three urgent demands that have gripped South 24 Parganas.
Led by state leaders, hundreds of activists marched through crowded thoroughfares, megaphones blaring and banners held high. They called for the “harshest possible punishment” for those who gang-raped and murdered an 11- or 12-year-old schoolgirl whose body was recovered from a pond on July 5. Equally, severe justice for the killers of 17-year-old school student and footballer Prasenjit Biswas, stabbed to death days later in a dispute linked to a local match.
The third demand cut closest to the party’s core: the unconditional release of Comrade Mohammad Lahek Ali. Ali, the CPI(M) candidate from Baruipur West in the recent Assembly elections, was arrested in mid-July on charges of inciting the violent protests that erupted after the girl’s body was found. Police accuse him of instigating mob violence that included vandalism, road blockades and the lynching of a man later described as innocent. Ali has dismissed the case as “politically motivated.” The party insists he was targeted for demanding accountability from the new BJP government led by Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari.
The minor’s case remains one of the most horrific in recent memory. The girl vanished on July 4 while buying a gift. Her body, recovered the next day, showed she had been tortured, sexually assaulted and thrown into water while still alive. Several men were arrested; one prime accused died in a police encounter. Parallel outrage followed Prasenjit’s throat-slitting murder, with juveniles among those detained.
The dual crimes, coming within days of each other in the same region, have fuelled anger and political confrontation. CPI(M )’s red march turned that fury into organised pressure – justice for the victims, freedom for their comrade. As the procession wound through Baruipur’s streets under monsoon skies, the message was unmistakable: the Left will not stay silent.
JANPATH NEWS NETWORK (JNN)
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