Prahlad Das, a 23-year-old accused in the rape and murder of a teenage girl in Gaighata, was killed in an encounter with police on Monday night. The incident occurred around 11:50 pm, when police took Das to the spot for crime reconstruction.
After the crime reconstruction procedure was completed, which included retrieving clothes found associated with the crime, Das reportedly wanted to get off the vehicle to relieve himself. The accused reportedly snatched the service revolver from a police personnel in the vehicle and fired a few rounds.
One police personnel reportedly jumped into the nearby pond, while another officer opened retaliatory fire, in which Das was injured. He was taken to Bongaon Superspeciality Hospital in North 24 Parganas district, where he was declared brought dead. The body has been sent for post-mortem.
On Sunday, a 17-year-old girl’s body, covered with blood, was found in Gaighata hours after she went missing. The girl had gone to her friend’s house for Lakshmi Puja on Saturday night. After a while, the girl allegedly received a phone call around 11:30 pm, after which she left her friend’s place. When the girl did not return home till late, her parents informed the police.
Police launched a search and recovered the girl’s body with multiple injuries near her friend’s house. Her parents alleged their daughter was raped and murdered.
Police nabbed the accused, Das, who was produced in Bongaon court and subsequently remanded to 10 days of police custody. The accused revealed during preliminary investigation that he harboured resentment against the victim as she made certain remarks against his mother.
The incident sparked protests from local residents, prompting the Rapid Action Force(RAF) and combat forces to be deployed to control the situation at Gaighata.
This is the second incident of a rape accused being killed in a police encounter in West Bengal in three months. Earlier, Prabhas Mondol, the prime accused in the raoe and murder of an 11-year-old girl, was killed in a police encounter on July 8 in a similar manner.
