The Opposition parties tore into the Trinamul Congress-led state government after Calcutta High Court on Friday set aside the death sentences ordered by a sessions court to three of the six convicts in the 2013 rape and murder of a college girl at Kamduni in North 24-Parganas.

The bench comprising Justice Joymalya Bagchi and Justice Ajay Kumar Gupta converted the death sentences of convicts Saiful Ali and Ansar Ali into life imprisonment, while acquitting Amin Ali citing the state police’s failure to establish charges against the accused persons. Three other convicts — Sheikh Imanul Islam, Aminur Islam and Bholanath Naskar — whom the sessions court had sentenced to 10 years imprisonment were also acquitted by the bench.

Slamming the state police, Sukanta Majumdar, the state BJP president, said that it was the duty and responsibility of the cops to produce enough evidence and establish the charges against the accused in the court of law.

“The state police have failed to establish the charges in the court of law as it could not gather enough evidence. It is a failure on the part of the state government and it has to own the responsibility,” said Majumdar.

He also said the party’s women’s wing would launch a state-wide agitation on the issue. He also hinted that the BJP party would help the victim’s family move the Supreme Court challenging the HC order.

Kamduni remained an issue for the Opposition parties over the years to criticise the Trinamul. The CPM had initially picked up the issue to criticise the Trinamul before 2014 Lok Sabha polls. But later on, the BJP picked up the issue to attack the Trinamul on the issue of law and order in the state. The party’s women’s wing had kicked off its 10-day march from Kamduni in 2016 to protest against the alleged atrocities against women in the state.

Shortly after the verdict was delivered, the CPM came down heavily on the ruling establishment on the issue.

Mohd Salim, the CPM state secretary, said that since the state police failed to produce enough evidence against the accused, the chief minister, Mamata Banerjee, who also holds the home minister’s portfolio must own responsibility for the outcome of the case.

“Criminals are having a free run across the state. The police don’t file cases against the criminals as they are close to the ruling party. The same thing happened in this particular case too,” said Salim.

The ISF also criticized the state government for the failure of the police to establish charges against the accused.

“The Trinamul had earlier held rallies supporting the accused… In this background, the police cannot submit evidence in the court to frame them. This is utter negligence on the part of the state government,” said Nawsad Siddiqui, the ISF MLA from Bhangar.

The Trinamul, however, refuted the charges saying the police had done their bit, but nobody had control over the court’s verdict. Ruling party sources said the high court order had left the ruling establishment in an awkward situation since the chief minister herself had assured that the accused would get stringent punishment.

Kunal Ghosh, a Trinamul spokesperson, said, “The court has given the verdict. It has been seen in the past that capital punishment was often changed into life sentences. No comment should be made on the court verdict. But the police have done their best.”

Finding themselves on the back foot, a ruling party source said that the CID might move the Supreme Court to challenge the verdict.