Bengal police shoot rape-murder accused dead, 4th encounter in 4 months

A man accused in the rape-murder of a 12-year-old girl was shot dead in a police encounter near the West Bengal-Bihar border in Uttar Dinajpur district on Monday morning. This is the fourth incident since May, when the BJP government came to power in Bengal, in which people accused of heinous crimes such as rape and murder have been killed in encounters.

In this case, a 12-year-old girl went missing in Uttar Dinajpur district on Tuesday (November 3). She had left home on her bicycle and did not return. Two days later, her naked body was recovered from a forest area near the Kulik River.

The girl’s family filed a complaint with the police, alleging that she had been gang-raped and murdered. Dilip Roy was named an accused. Police tracked him down after a four-day manhunt.

Senior police officers said police teams closed in on Roy around 3:00 am as he was trying to cross into Bihar. He allegedly opened fire at the police team. “He suffered critical injuries in the retaliatory firing and was rushed to the Raiganj Medical College and Hospital, where doctors declared him dead,” said a police officer.

4th encounter in 4 months

​This incident marks the fourth encounter killing of a rape or a murder accused in West Bengal since the BJP took over. On July 8, Prabhas Mondal, accused of raping and murdering a 13-year-old girl, was shot dead at Baruipur in South 24 Parganas district. Police said he tried to snatch a police officer’s firearm and was gunned down in retaliatory firing.

​On October 27, Prahlad Das (23), accused of the rape-murder of a 13-year-old, was shot dead in Gaighata, North 24 Parganas. Police said he snatched an officer’s service revolver when he was taken to the crime scene after midnight for reconstruction. Police said Das opened fire at the police team and was killed in retaliatory firing.

The same day, at Samsherganj in Murshidabad, Samiul Sheikh (46), accused of murdering BJP worker Sujit Mondal, was killed in an encounter with the police. Sheikh, police said, was shot dead when he tried to snatch a policeman’s weapon.

Story continues below this ad

Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari has said he has given a free hand to cops

What Chief Minister has said

Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari has stressed that he has given the police a free hand to act in cases of violence against women. “If you commit gangrape or rape, police will do what is needed…We worship mothers, sisters, daughters. You can see what is happening to those who abuse them,” he said at a rally, adding that he “need not say more”.

Targeting the previous Mamata Banerjee government, he said, “The previous Chief Minister used to say it’s a ‘minor incident, a love affair, the girl was pregnant’, didn’t they say these things?” He added that the state government has appointed a special Public Prosecutor to look into rape cases during the previous government’s tenure. “I will not spare a single one,” he said.

Encounters raise concerns

While local residents voiced support for the police action against the rape-murder accused, the encounter has renewed the debate surrounding such killings. “It is legally permissible for police to fire in self-defence. However, this incident must also be subjected to a judicial inquiry. Those who commit crimes against women, who rape and kill such a young girl, deserve to be killed, provided it is within the periphery of the law of the land. But encounters should never turn into a tradition, a culture,” retired police officer Salil Bhattacharya told the media.

After the October 27 encounters, Trinamool Congress MP Sougata Ray had demanded an explanation from the state government. “The government must provide a clear explanation, and an inquiry should be conducted,” he said.