Kolkata Oct 10 (PTI) The BJP and another organisation held separate rallies in West Bengal on Tuesday assailing the prosecution's failure to prove beyond doubt the charges of pre-planning the gang rape and murder of a 21-year-old college student 10 years ago at Kamduni, leading to commuting of their punishment by the Calcutta High Court.

Leader of the Opposition Suvendu Adhikari led a rally organised by the state BJP women's cell at Kamduni in North 24 Parganas district, where the incident occurred on June 7, 2013, when the victim was returning home from college.

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The Calcutta High Court last week acquitted a capital punishment awardee and commuted the death sentence of two others to life imprisonment. The court also freed three others of the charge of gang rape and held them guilty of criminal conspiracy and causing disappearance of evidence.

The high court observed that the state has failed to prove conspiracy and prior concert (pre-planning) in the crime beyond reasonable doubt. It said that prior concert of the appellants to avenge a purported snub by the victim, as alleged by two prosecution witnesses, has not been proved.

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"We will hold protests across the state against crimes against women in West Bengal and the failure of the government to protect them," Adhikari said at the BJP women's cell rally.

Another rally from Esplanade to the Gandhi statue on Mayo Road in central Kolkata was held by an organisation in which the people of Kamduni and others including Leftist leaders and intellectuals took part, but they did not carry flags of any political party.

Tumpa Koyal, one of the participants in the Kolkata rally and a resident of Kamduni village, said "We have been forced to take to the streets seeking justice as the state government failed to prove before the high court the charges against those who were convicted by the lower court."

She is one of the persons who have been at the forefront of concerted protests since the crime took place 10 years ago.

"We want to move the Supreme Court on our own through our lawyers," she said.

The West Bengal government has moved the top court challenging the high court order.

Another protester Mousumi Koyal and a resident of Kamduni said they were feeling unsafe owing to the release of the culprits from jail on Monday.

"We are not satisfied with the high court order. Talks are on to go to Delhi for moving the Supreme Court seeking that the lower court order be upheld," she told reporters from the rally held in the city.

Veteran CPI(M) leader Ramola Chakraborty alleged that the investigators failed to properly prove before the high court the guilt of the persons who were convicted by the lower court.

"So we will move the Supreme Court to seek justice," she said.

The sessions court in 2016 awarded the capital punishment to Amin Ali, Saiful Ali and Ansar Ali, while Imanul Islam, Aminul Islam and Bhola Naskar had been sentenced to life imprisonment.

The high court acquitted Amin Ali and commuted the death sentence of Saiful Ali and Ansar Ali to imprisonment till the end of their natural life.

The high court also acquitted Sk Emamul Islam, Aminur Islam and Bhola Naskar of the charge of gangrape, while convicting them for criminal conspiracy and causing disappearance of evidence.

Holding that the three have already suffered incarceration for more than 10 years since their arrest and their conviction entails a maximum of seven years imprisonment, the court directed that they will be set free upon payment of Rs 10,000 fine each, in default of which they will undergo simple imprisonment for three more months.

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)