Opposition Leader Pledges Legal Aid for Kamduni Rape-Murder Victim's Family in Supreme Court

West Bengal's Leader of Opposition, Suvendu Adhikari, on Saturday alleged that the state government under the Trinamool Congress had been opposing the family of the Kamduni rape-and-murder victim in their pursuit of justice in the Supreme Court. He announced that his party would extend legal assistance to the family if it comes to power.

“The State will not oppose them in the Supreme Court. We will support the victim’s family by providing them with government lawyers. I will convey my message to our standing counsel,” Adhikari told reporters after meeting the families of the Baruipur rape-murder victim and a man lynched in its aftermath.

The Kamduni case dates back to 2013, when a college student returning home in North 24 Parganas’ Kamduni was dragged into a farm, gang-raped, and murdered. Her mutilated body was found the next morning, triggering widespread protests over women’s safety in the state.

In 2016, a sessions court sentenced three accused to death and three others to life imprisonment. The Calcutta High Court later commuted the death sentences of two to life terms and acquitted a third death-row convict. It also reduced the life sentences of three other convicts, prompting the victim’s family to approach the Supreme Court, alleging that justice had not been served.

Adhikari claimed that sixteen public prosecutors were changed during the High Court proceedings and that the state had failed to present crucial facts. “Till now, the state government had been opposing the victim’s family. But the state will not oppose them in the Supreme Court. I will convey my message to our standing counsel,” he reiterated.

Reaffirming the BJP’s zero-tolerance policy towards crimes against women, Adhikari criticized former Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee’s remarks in the aftermath of the Kamduni incident. Banerjee had visited the site and alleged that Maoists were among the protesters, a statement that drew sharp criticism. Adhikari said, “Rest assured, the West Bengal government will not describe such incidents as stray incidents or love affairs, nor will it say that the victim was pregnant or offer compensation of ₹10 lakh as a substitute for justice.”