Two policemen escorting an undertrial were shot at and injured in North Dinajpur on Wednesday afternoon while they were on their way to Raiganj from Islampur in a prison van with the undertrial.
Sajjad Alam, the undertrial, has fled from the spot.
The police have initiated a search to nab him and issued an alert along the Bengal-Bihar interstate border. They are also trying to find out whether the absconder snatched firearms from the policemen and fired at them or if any of his accomplices opened the fire.
The injured cops, Deben Baishya and Nilkanta Sarkar, are under treatment at a private nursing home in Siliguri in critical condition. They are in no shape to shed light on what transpired.
Sources said Alam, a resident of the Karandighi area of the district, was arrested in 2019 in connection with a murder case. He was at the correctional home in Raiganj.
On Wednesday, Alam was sent to Islampur, which is 110km away from here, in a prison van with a police escort as he was supposed to be produced at a court in connection with the case.
After his production, the police team was returning with Alam to Raiganj. There was a woman undertrial in the same vehicle, along with two women constables.
As the vehicle was heading towards Raiganj, it was stopped on NH27 at Panjipara.
“There is information that the undertrial told the policemen that he needed to relieve himself. After the vehicle stopped, bullets were fired at the policemen and both got injured. Alam fled,” said a source.
The location of the firing, Ikarchala Kalibari, is barely 50 metres from the Bengal-Bihar interstate border, a kilometre away from the police outpost of Panjipara and around 90km from Raiganj.
Hearing the gunshots, some residents ran out to see Baishya and Sarkar lying there and bleeding.
Spotting an empty ambulance on the highway, they stopped it, put the injured duo on it and asked the driver to rush to the subdivisional hospital in Islampur.
Later, the duo were shifted to Siliguri.
“We are investigating the case and will speak to the driver and the women constables in the vehicle. The photo of the undertrial has been circulated across the district and an alert has been passed along the interstate border,” said Joby Thomas, the SP of the Islampur police district.
“Some residents claimed the accused fled on a motorcycle. Vigilance has been intensified in the area,” said a police source.