Kolkata, Jan 25 (IANS): In the wake of the gruesome gang rape of a tribal woman allegedly at the behest of a kangaroo court, West Bengal Governor M.K. Narayanan Saturday admitted that the administration has failed to prevent such crimes.

"The most important thing is to prevent them (rapes), but unfortunately we have not been able to," Narayanan said, reacting to the incident which has created nationwide uproar.

While the Mamata Banerjee-led Trinamool Congress government has been facing flak over its handling of the matter, the governor sought to defend it saying "the government has taken adequate steps".

Narayanan also reiterated his demand for inflicting "corporal punishment" on the 13 culprits now behind bars and said there was no place for kangaroo or other self-styled courts under the law.

The 20-year-old tribal woman was repeatedly brutalised by over a dozen men on the orders of the village headman after she was found "guilty of having an affair with a man outside her community".

The incident happened Monday night in Birbhum district's Subalpur village. While the man, a married mason older than the tribal woman, was let off on payment of a fine, the woman and her family pleaded that the fine amount was too large and they could not afford to pay it.

The state, of late, has witnessed a spate of crimes against women, including several cases of gang rape and murder.

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