Police officers who are probing the incident of firing on policemen by undertrial Sajjak Alam in Panjipara of North Dinajpur have found out that one of his female relatives runs a gang of criminals in the district.

“We suspect that Marjina, who is Sajjak’s cousin, had planned the attack so that he could flee. She runs a gang of 15-20 criminals and has a number of cases, including murder, robbery, and other crimes against her,” said a source in the intelligence wing of the district police.

Alam, sources said, had gunned down Subesh Das, a poultry farm owner, at a bus stand in Karandighi of the district on October 7, 2019, for which he was arrested.

“Marjina was also involved in this murder. She is out on bail now,” the source added.

As Alam fled on Wednesday, police personnel were posted at the deceased Subesh’s house for the safety of his family.

The police also raided the houses of Alam and Marjina in Choto Sohar village under the Karandighi police station of the district. They were found locked, police sources said.

“Marjina and her gang are active in Bengal and Bihar. We suspect she engaged Abdul Hossain, Alam's friend, to provide the firearm to Alam. Instead of sending a stranger to the court lockup, a friend was sent (with a gun),” said an investigator.

Around four years back, Abdul was arrested in Goalpokhar for another crime. He was sent to the correctional home in Islampur. Alam was there then. They became friends. Eventually, Alam was shifted to the Raiganj correctional home. Abdul got bail around seven months back.

During the probe, the police found that Alam had wrapped a shawl as he was escorted out of the correctional home on Wednesday. “He managed to conceal the firearm under the shawl. After shooting the policemen, he ran some distance and then discarded the shawl. Later at night, a sniffer dog engaged by the police reached the spot where he left the shawl,” said a source.

The police also suspect that Alam, after his initial running, fled the area on a bike. “This hints that at least one person was posted with a bike in a specific location to carry him and a meticulous plan was drawn to ensure his escape,” the source added.

On Thursday, as the police announced cash rewards for both Alam and Hossain, Soumendu Majumdar, a lawyer based in Islampur, claimed Hossain had been arrested under the Foreigners’ Act.

“I represented him. He was convicted. The court had ordered that he be pushed back to Bangladesh after his imprisonment. I am wondering that if he was pushed back, how he came here again?” said Majumdar.

But in the poster released by the police announcing the reward, it has been said that Hossain is a resident of Goalpokhar in Uttar Dinajpur.

“We are checking his antecedents and gathering more information about him,” said a police officer, when told about the lawyer’s claim.

Police attacked

A police team in Murshidabad district was attacked at Alinagar village under the Domkal police station area on Wednesday night.

Sources said the team led by Ranapratap Sengupta, a sub-inspector of police, reached there to arrest a person against whom a court had issued a warrant in connection with a case.

To stop the police, a group of villagers attacked the team. They ransacked the police van and assaulted the officers.

Sengupta got injured by sharp weapons used by attackers and was treated at the Domkal subdivisional hospital.

Soon, additional police forces reached the area. Four persons, including Mina Bibi, a Trinamool leader and former panchayat chief, were arrested for the attack.

“We are in search of the person against whom the warrant has been issued and some others who were involved in the attack,” said Subham Bajaj, the Domkal SDPO.

Additional reporting by Alamgir Hossain in Murshidabad