Kolkata, Oct 27 (PTI) A 23-year-old man accused in the rape and murder of a 17-year-old girl was killed in a gunfight with the police in West Bengal’s North 24 Parganas district, a senior officer said on Tuesday.
The incident took place on Monday night in Gaighata, where he was taken for reconstruction of the crime.
Suddenly, he snatched the service revolver of a police officer and opened fire on the personnel, leading to retaliatory firing in which he sustained gunshot wounds, she said.
He was taken to Chandpara Rural Hospital, where doctors declared him dead, the officer said, adding the body has been sent for post-mortem.
“The circumstances under which the accused managed to snatch the revolver of an officer and the sequence of events leading to the firing are likely to be probed,” she said.
No policemen were injured in the firing by the accused. When he opened fire on the police personnel, they took cover in a nearby canal, she added.
The deceased’s family members reached the hospital and expressed their ire over the incident.
A large police contingent has been deployed in the area to maintain law and order, the officer said.
The man was arrested for allegedly raping and murdering the class 11 student, whose body was found outside a neighbour’s house in Gaighata area on Sunday morning.
The girl, who had gone to attend a musical programme near her home on Saturday night, allegedly went missing.
Police sources said that the victim left the venue after receiving a phone call and did not return home that night.
In West Bengal, this was the second incident in three months of a rape accused getting killed in police firing while trying to escape after snatching firearms from the police during reconstruction of the crime scene.
In July, the prime accused in the rape and murder of an 11-year-old girl was killed in a police encounter after he allegedly snatched an officer’s revolver and opened fire on the personnel during crime reconstruction in Baruipur in South 24 Parganas district. PTI SCH BSM ACD
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