Kolkata, 15 July (H.S.) : Police on Wednesday arrested another accused in connection with the mob lynching of a 26-year-old man at Baruipur in West Bengal's South 24 Parganas district, taking the total number of arrests in the case to eight.

The latest accused, identified as Sakim Lashkar, was arrested on Wednesday morning and is scheduled to be produced before a district court in South 24 Parganas. The prosecution is expected to seek his police custody for further interrogation.

According to officials of Baruipur District Police, the investigation has identified several more individuals who allegedly participated directly in the lynching of Indrajit Tanti on July 5. Those suspects are currently absconding, and police teams are conducting raids to trace and arrest them.

Several more people have been identified as directly involved in the lynching. They are on the run, and our teams are working to apprehend them. More arrests are expected in the coming days, a police officer associated with the investigation said.

The seven accused arrested earlier have been booked under various provisions of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), 2023, including charges related to unlawful assembly, rioting, obstructing a public servant in the discharge of duty, voluntarily causing hurt to a public servant, and murder by lynching. The same charges are expected to be invoked against Lashkar.

The lynching took place following public outrage over the alleged rape and murder of a 12-year-old girl. However, police investigations later declared Indrajit Tanti innocent in that case.

Last week, Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari visited Baruipur and handed over a compensation cheque of ₹25 lakh to Tanti's family. He also announced that the victim's elder brother would be appointed as a civic volunteer in the West Bengal Police.

During his visit, the Chief Minister alleged that individuals rejected by the people in the recently concluded West Bengal Assembly elections were behind the conspiracy that led to the mob lynching.

Police are simultaneously investigating three separate cases arising from the July 5 incident.

The first relates to the alleged rape and murder of the minor girl, in which four persons have been arrested so far. One of the accused, Pravas Mondal, was killed in a police encounter after allegedly attempting to escape custody by snatching the service firearm of an escorting police officer.

The second case pertains to the lynching of Indrajit Tanti, while the third concerns the large-scale violence that followed, during which railway tracks and police vehicles were vandalised and several police personnel were assaulted.

Police have so far arrested 42 persons in connection with the violence, and investigations into all three cases are continuing.

Hindusthan Samachar / Satya Prakash Singh