West Bengal police have shot dead two men accused of serious crimes in separate incidents within 24 hours, prompting opposition parties to question whether the state is adopting the encounter-policing model associated with Uttar Pradesh under Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath.
In both cases, police claimed the accused snatched firearms from officers and opened fire, forcing the police to retaliate.
Samiul Sheikh, the main accused in the murder of BJP worker Sujit Mondal, was killed in Murshidabad district on Tuesday. Police said he was shot during an attempt to escape custody.
Sheikh and two others were arrested after Mondal went missing on August 28. Investigators later recovered parts of his body from a canal.
A Criminal Investigation Department (CID) team took Sheikh to the Old Dak Bungalow area in Samserganj on Tuesday to reconstruct the crime, a police officer told the Press Trust of India.
While returning from the site, Sheikh allegedly tried to flee, seized a police officer’s firearm and opened fire at the team, the officer said. Sheikh was injured in the ensuing exchange of fire and taken to hospital, where he was declared dead.
The incident followed a similar shooting shortly before midnight on Monday in Gaighata, North 24 Parganas district.
Prahlad Das, accused of raping and murdering a Class 11 student, was killed after allegedly snatching a firearm from police and opening fire, according to the police account.
Das was arrested on Sunday, a day after the girl went missing. Her body was recovered the following day. Police said he had confessed to the crime during interrogation.
Opposition parties questioned whether West Bengal was adopting the model of encounter killings associated with Uttar Pradesh, where Adityanath’s government has faced criticism over police shootings, The Telegraph reported.
Communist Party of India (Marxist) leader Mohammed Salim described the incidents as “staged encounters” and raised concerns about the state’s law-and-order situation.
Congress leader Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury also questioned the police account, asking how two accused in separate cases could allegedly seize firearms from officers.
“Should we consider the state police competent, or should we think about giving them new training?” The Telegraph quoted Chowdhury as saying.
Support Independent Media
Click Here and Join the Membership of Millat Times to Support Independent Media.
Support Millat Times