A mentally challenged man was allegedly killed in police firing in Upper Assam’s Golaghat district on Wednesday, during the first phase of panchayat elections, after he allegedly attacked and injured four persons at a polling booth.

The deceased has been identified as Gyanendra Rajkhowa, 35.

The incident occurred around 10.30am at Habial village under Khumtai Assembly constituency, around 15km from here.

Golaghat deputy commissioner Gaurav Bothra has ordered a magisterial inquiry into the incident.

Resident Sotai Das said, “Gyanendra suddenly attacked me with an iron rod when I was going to cast my vote at Habial lower primary school. He also tried to attack other people present at the polling booth. In the process, four persons sustained minor injuries and he fled from the spot. Later, a large police contingent arrived to arrest him.”

“When the police team went to Gyanendra’s house, he tried to chase them away by waving two machetes. We heard four to five rounds of shots being fired and saw him being dragged away,” he added.

Golaghat superintendent of police Manabendra Deb Rai said, “The team, led by deputy superintendent of police Partha Protim Saikia, went to Gyanendra’s house to arrest him as we had registered a case against him for disturbing the election process and injuring three persons. When our team reached his house, he tried to chase them away by waving two daggers. The team then fired four rounds in the air but Gyanendra kept on chasing them. So, one of the policemen was forced to fire from his Insas rifle at his leg.”

However, Rai was not able to provide details of the persons attacked and injured by the deceased.

Gyanendra’s father Nagen Rajkhowa alleged, “When the police party came to our house (around 1km from the booth), they asked my son to come out. I also told him to surrender before police. He went outside and started arguing with the policemen and started waving a dao (machete). Without giving any warning, the police started firing at my son.”

“My son was a former BSF jawan, who retired from service seven years ago. Since then, he was cultivating our paddy field. After his retirement, he got separated from his wife and has been mentally distressed. He could have been arrested by using non-lethal measure but he was murdered in the courtyard. How can a single person become dangerous for a heavily armed police party? I should have told him to flee so he would have been alive now,” Nagen said.