Trinamool Congress MP Saayoni Ghosh and MLA Ritabrata Banerjee, rebels challenging Mamata Banerjee’s leadership of the Trinamool Congress, faced ‘go back’ and ‘chor’ slogans at Baruipur in West Bengal’s South 24 Parganas, where they went to meet the family of an 11-year-old rape-murder victim.Baruipur is part of the Jadavpur parliamentary constituency, which Saayoni Ghosh represents in Lok Sabha. The town is on edge after the body of the 11-year-old was found in a sack dumped in a pond. Police have registered a case under the sections of gangrape and also invoked the stringent Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act. The preliminary autopsy confirmed sexual assault and also revealed that the child was alive when she was thrown into the pond. What has added to the unrest in the area is the lynching of a man known to be close to one of the accused.As Saayoni Ghosh approached the victim’s home, she was greeted by a crowd shouting “gaddar” – meaning traitor – and “go back”, apparently targeting her for the mutiny against her former boss Mamata Banerjee, who brought Saayoni Ghosh into the political limelight. The crowd also questioned why she had come three days after the girl was found dead.Also Read | ‘Had police acted when we complained, she would be alive’: Mother of Bengal rape-murder victimWhile speaking to the victim’s mother, Saayoni Ghosh said, “I have no words, only that we are with you. The Chief Minister will ensure that no mother will lose their child as you did. This is not the time to think whether we are ISF, BJP, NCPI or TMC. We must all stand together against such a horrific crime. I am going to meet the Chief Minister. Strictest punishment will be given to the culprits.”#WATCH | Baruipur, WB: On the alleged rape and murder of a minor girl in Baruipur, Rebel TMC leader Saayoni Ghosh says, "I met with the entire family. When someone loses their life, a child dies, we too feel the pain. We expect this from our Chief Minister: an investigation, a… pic.twitter.com/VsjwJMj8ns— ANI (@ANI) July 7, 2026“Whenever you call me, I will be there for you. I have shared my number with you and others here,” she added.A political stormThe Baruipur rape-murder, coming less than two months after the BJP took over the reins in Bengal, is a major test for Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari. Adhikari’s former boss and Trinamool chairperson Mamata Banerjee has targeted the state government after she was stopped from visiting Baruipur.Also Read | Why Bengal rape-murder is BJP government’s first big testThe political reactions to the horrific crime are also playing out against the backdrop of the meltdown in the Trinamool Congress. The Mamata Banerjee-led party, which ruled Bengal for 15 years, has unravelled within weeks of its crushing defeat in the May election.Twenty out of the party’s 28 Lok Sabha MPs have joined the Nationalist Citizens Party of India, which was barely known two months back. At the Assembly level, about 60 of Trinamool’s 80 MLAs have rebelled against Mamata Banerjee’s leadership. The MLAs are yet to join another party.Story continues below this adWho has visited, who will soonLeaders from both factions of the Trinamool Congress and the BJP have reached Baruipur to meet the girl’s family. Kakoli Ghosh Dastidar, who leads Trinamool’s rebel faction in Parliament, was among them. Siuli Saha, a rebel MLA and Chandrima Bhattacharya, Mamata Banerjee’s aide who recently quit her camp, also met the family. Chief Minister Adhikari is in Baruipur to meet the family.“We want capital punishment for the culprits. The Chief Minister has said it, and we want it implemented. The previous government passed the Aparajita Bill. It should be immediately made an Act,” said Dastidar.The Aparajita Women and Child (West Bengal Criminal Laws Amendment) Bill, 2024, is a stringent anti-rape legislation unanimously passed by the Bengal Assembly. The Bill provides for the death penalty if a sexual assault results in the victim’s death or leaves them in a vegetative state. It enhances the minimum punishment for rape to life imprisonment for the remainder of the convict’s natural life, or the death penalty.State urban development minister Agnimitra Paul and BJP leader Locket Chatterjee also visited the victim’s family.Story continues below this adWhile Mamata Banerjee was prevented from travelling to Baruipur, leaders from her camp – Biman Banerjee, Dola Sen and Pratima Mondal – visited the girl’s family on Monday.Bengal’s Director General of Police, Siddh Nath Gupta, also visited the girl’s family. “Investigation is on, and arrests have been made. If it is found that there were lapses on the part of the police initially, an inquiry will be done and action taken,” Gupta told the media.