Police in North Dinajpur have arrested a person in connection with the January 15 incident when now-deceased Sajjak Alam, an undertrial for a murder case, fired at two policemen and fled the spot.
Alam was killed in a shootout with the police on Saturday at Kichaktola village in Goalpokhar. Asked to surrender, he fired at the police, prompting them to retaliate. Sajjak died of bullet injuries.
Arrested Sheikh Hazrat, a friend of Alam's, helped him by arranging a firearm for him and giving him a bike ride on January 15 when he was on the run.
“The police of Goalpokhar arrested Sheikh Hazrat on Saturday. He was produced in Islampur court on Saturday and was sent to police custody for 10 days,” said Sanjay Bhowal, a government lawyer in Islampur.
Sources said that the police identified Hazrat from the CCTV footage of the Islampur court campus during the probe into the incident. In the footage, Hazrat and Abdul Hussain aka Abal, who is a suspected Bangladeshi, were seen standing together on the court campus.
“During the investigation, it was found that Hazrat had arranged the firearm that Hussain had handed to Alam. There are indications that when Alam fled after shooting the cops, Hazrat had given him a ride on his bike to some shelter,” said a police source.
The police are still searching for Hussain and Marjina, Alam’s sister, who also helped him escape.
Alam was the principal accused of the murder of Subesh Das, a poultry farm owner from Karandighi. In 2019, he had gunned down Das at a local market.
Hazrat, police sources said, is from Baldiagach village. “He is a migrant worker. So far, we have not found any criminal record in his name. He knew Abdul and joined him to help Alam,” the source added.
On Sunday, the post-mortem of Alam’s body, brought to Islampur on Saturday night, was done at the Raiganj Government Medical College & Hospital.
The police informed his family members who reached RGMCH on Sunday.
Afroza, one of Alam's two wives, said she did not have contact with her husband for the past four to five years while he was in jail.
“The police informed me he died in firing,” she said.
Tafizul Haque, the undertrial’s brother-in-law, supported the police.
“I married his sister one-and-a-half years back and never met him. Yesterday (on Saturday), I came to know he was dead. On Wednesday, he had shot at two policemen. On Saturday too, he fired at them. I believe the police have done the right thing (by shooting him),” said Haque.
In the evening, Alam’s body was handed over to the family.
The police are patrolling in his native village and surrounding areas, sources said.