5 min readKolkataJul 14, 2026 06:33 PM IST
First published on: Jul 14, 2026 at 06:28 PM IST
The West Bengal Police on Sunday night arrested 45-year-old CPI(M) leader Md Lahek Ali on charges of inciting mob violence and lynching that followed the alleged rape and murder of an 11-year-old girl in Baruipur earlier this month.
Ali, the CPI(M)’s former candidate from the Baruipur Paschim Assembly constituency and a private tutor by profession, has since become the focus of a political row, with the Left alleging that his arrest was politically motivated.
“This is political vendetta by the ruling party. After the incident, when police reached the spot, Lahek also went there. Videos clearly show that he was trying to pacify the crowd along with the police. But the ruling party is trying to instil fear among our leaders through such actions. Even before an investigation is complete, someone is being declared guilty. That is not the rule of law. It appears the BJP is following the TMC in this regard,” CPI(M) Central Committee member Sujan Chakraborty said.
The incident, which occurred on July 7, triggered widespread unrest in the area, during which a youth was lynched, protesters allegedly assaulted police personnel, torched police vehicles, blocked roads and disrupted rail services by squatting on railway tracks.
Where it began?
According to CPI(M) sources, Ali, a resident of Khodarbazar in Baruipur, became a party member in 2017. He later joined the Baruipur Paschim-1 Area Committee and was also associated with the party’s youth wing, the Democratic Youth Federation of India (DYFI). In 2025, he was inducted into the party’s district committee.
Ali contested the 2021 and 2026 Assembly elections from Baruipur Paschim. He finished third on both occasions. In 2021, he secured 25,639 votes, trailing behind the BJP and the Trinamool Congress (TMC) while in 2026, he polled 23,479 votes. The seat has been represented by TMC leader Biman Banerjee since 2011.
Ali’s election affidavit states that he and his wife have Rs 5,000 in cash. He declared ownership of a 217 sq ft non-agricultural plot valued at Rs 1 lakh and a two-wheeler worth Rs 84,000. His wife declared 25 grams of gold worth around Rs 4 lakh. Together, the couple reported bank deposits and cash totalling Rs 8.48 lakh. The affidavit also states that Ali has no criminal antecedents. He holds a Master’s degree in Arts from Rabindra Bharati University and is considered a popular local leader.
The Congress too has criticised Ali’s arrest. “We strongly protest and condemn the arrest of CPI(M) leader Lahek Ali. People protesting against a rape and murder is a normal feature of a democracy. The police are trying to silence such voices by filing false cases. It shows the BJP government is scared of public protests. We demand his immediate release,” state Congress chief Shubhankar Sarkar said.
Arrest after CM visit
Ali’s came days after Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari visited Baruipur on July 7, where he met police officers and the families of both the minor victim and the lynching victim.
“There are political people who instigated the arson. Those rejected in elections, or those whose tally has come down to one from zero, were behind the violence,” Adhikari had said, in an apparent reference to the Left.
He had also alleged that “anti-national elements and radical factions” were involved in the incident. “The police have identified around 200 people who instigated the violence for political reasons and cheap publicity. They have call records. The government will take action against them. They will not be spared,” Adhikari had said.
At the inauguration of a police outpost on Saturday, Adhikari said, “I won’t say Indrajit was lynched. He was killed after his name and identity were ascertained. People rejected in the elections are behind the incident. Radicals and ultra-Left elements may also be involved.”
Ali has been booked under 27 provisions of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), including charges related to murder, criminal conspiracy, unlawful assembly, damaging public property and other offences, along with provisions of the Prevention of Damage to Public Property Act, the Maintenance of Public Order Act and the Indian Railways Act. He was produced in a Baruipur court, which remanded him to eight days police custody.
