A four-year-old boy from Jhitkia village on the outskirts of Raiganj town died after being shot in the head by his father on Wednesday night.

Sahil died in hospital. His father Nastar Ali fled. Sources said Ali shot his son after a fight with his wife and demanding money from her parents.

They said Ali, who got married seven years ago, would often fight with his wife and ask her to bring money from her parents and torture her.

“The past few days, he had been making similar demands and on Wednesday, around 11.30am, they got into a fight. Suddenly, Ali took out a firearm and fired at his son,” said Shamsuddin Ahmed, a relative.

The bullet, police said, hit the head of Sahil Sheikh, the little boy. Though rushed to Raiganj Government Medical College and Hospital, Sahil succumbed to his injuries.

As the news spread, Ali fled while a team from Raiganj police station went to the area to start an investigation.

“Nastar Ali was involved with anti-social activities and often resorted to highhandedness. Residents here are fed up with his activities,” said Biswanath Deb Sharma, a local panchayat member.

On Thursday, angry villagers gathered near his house and decided that Ali would never be allowed to enter the village.

“Even if he is arrested and spends years in jail, we will not allow him into the village. What he did is unpardonable,” said a villager.

Police officials investigating the case said the boy was fired from point blank range. “It is evident that the bullet was fired to kill the boy,” said a police officer. "We suspect he has sneaked into Bihar as the interstate border is a few kilometres away."

30 injured in mishap

At least 30 passengers in an NBSTC bus, on its way to Balurghat from Malda, were injured after it collided head on with a truck in Rampur-14th Mile area under Tapan police station of South Dinajpur on Thursday afternoon.

Passengers alleged rash driving led to the accident. Local residents rescued the passengers, and when police and firemen reached the spot, helped them too in the rescue work. The injured, some critical, have been admitted to super-specialty hospitals of Gangarampur and Balurghat. Police have seized the bus and truck.