In West Bengal, a crime, the mob and state abdication

📌 Summary:

• Context: in Baruipur (South 24 Parganas, ~30 km from Kolkata), the assault and murder of an 11-year-old sparked protests; a man was then lynched by a mob for the crime — he reportedly was not responsible; subsequently an accused was killed in an "encounter", which the ruling party has defended; an SIT has been constituted to identify police lapses

• Core argument: this is a story of serial state failures — failure to protect the most vulnerable, failure of law enforcement to prevent mob "justice", and the gravest failure: political defence of extra-judicial action

• Causal chain: heinous crime → public anger and loss of faith in state protection → mob lynching of a (reportedly) innocent man in a policing vacuum → "encounter" killing of an accused → ruling-party framing of criticism as conspiracy → signalling of tolerance/impunity for state vigilantism

• Political framing criticised: CM Suvendu Adhikari called the lynching a "political conspiracy" with a "communal connection"; state BJP president Dilip Ghosh branded those questioning the encounter "anti-social" and said criminals and "those who support criminals" deserve equal treatment

• The editorial notes these statements are especially jarring from a ruling party that campaigned (poriborton) on law and order and women''s safety promises

• Solutions proposed: the government must underline respect for institutions, due process and fundamental rights — of victims and the accused alike; the first step is delinking law-and-order administration from partisan politics

🎯 UPSC Relevance: GS3 Internal Security — mob violence and vigilantism as challenges to rule of law; GS2 — due process, accountability of police and political executive; GS4 — ethics of state power (also echoes Tehseen Poonawalla guidelines on lynching)

🔑 Key Term: State vigilantism — extra-judicial punitive action by or condoned by state agencies (e.g., staged "encounters"), corroding due process under Articles 14 and 21