A murder accused who had escaped after firing at two policemen on Wednesday evening was shot dead in an encounter with the law enforcers near the Bangladesh border in North Dinajpur district on Saturday morning.
Rajesh Kumar Yadav, the inspector-general of police (north Bengal), said Sajjak Alam was trying to escape to Bangladesh to evade arrest.
“We had received information that Sajjak had taken shelter at Kichaktola village (under the jurisdiction of Goalpokhar police station). Our team reached the spot and zeroed in on him. When they asked him to surrender, he fired at them. Our men fired in self-defence and he was hit by bullets. We took him to the nearest rural hospital. He died there,” said Yadav.
Later in the day, Yadav, along with senior police officers, visited the spot on the bank of the Sherwani river. The India-Bangladesh border is around 3km from the location. The police have cordoned off the spot.
The IGP said the police had recovered a firearm, empty cartridges and a cellphone from the spot. “We are in search of his accomplice Abdul Hossain,” Yadav said.
On Wednesday, Sajjak, 25, was brought to the Islampur court from the Raiganj correctional home for production in a case. While he was at the court lockup, Hossain, a suspected Bangladeshi, had handed him the firearm.
When the police were taking Sajjak back to Raiganj, he persuaded them to stop the vehicle on NH27 at Panjipara, saying he needed to relieve himself.
Sajjad got out of the vehicle, took out the gun and fired at two policemen. Both of them suffered bullet injuries and the undertrial fled.
Doctors posted at the rural hospital in Lodhan in Goalpokhar block said Sajjad had been hit by three bullets in the leg, back and the left side of the chest. He succumbed to his injuries around 8.10am. The body has been sent to the Islampur subdivisional hospital for post-mortem.
Sources said after Sajjad had escaped, policemen in civvies had been visiting remote villages in search of him.
“The men in mufti were visiting hamlets near the Bangladesh frontier as there was an apprehension that he would enter the neighbouring country with the help of Abdul, who has connections on either side of the border,” said a source.
Residents of Kichaktola — which is around 50km from the spot where Sajjak had fired at the policemen — had been witnessing police movements since early Saturday morning.
“The village was enveloped in dense fog. Suddenly, I heard the sound of bursting crackers. I came out of the house and saw armed policemen running on agricultural fields. Some vehicles reached the Sherwani river bridge and all I could see was that the policemen were putting someone in a vehicle, after which they left. Later, I learned about the encounter,” said Majibur Rahaman, a villager.
The residents of Choto Sohar, Sajjad’s native village in the neighbouring Karandighi block, sounded relieved.
“He has met his fate. We were fed up with the activities of Sajjak, his cousin Marjina and their associates. The police have done well,” said Mohammad Akhtar Abir,
a villager.
The wife of Subesh Das, a poultry farm owner whom Sajjak had allegedly gunned down in Karandighi in 2019, said she had finally got justice. “He had killed my husband and today, we got justice. We were worried about our safety after he had fled from police custody. Now, we feel secure,” said Bhanu.
After Sajjak’s escape, police were deployed at Subesh’s house.