Kolkata, Nov 9 (PTI) A man accused of the rape and murder of a 12-year-old girl in West Bengal's Uttar Dinajpur district has been killed in an exchange of fire with police, officials said on Monday.
The accused, Dilip Roy, allegedly opened fire at a police team conducting a raid to arrest him at a village in Raiganj late on Sunday night, they said.
Police fired in retaliation, and Roy was injured. He was taken to Raiganj Medical College and Hospital, where he was declared dead, a police official said.
Police had been on the lookout for Roy for four days following the recovery of the girl's decomposed, unclothed body from a forest near the Kulik river on Friday.
According to sources, police received information that the accused was hiding in the Gouri gram panchayat area and raided the area. A bullet fired by the accused reportedly hit the tyre of a police vehicle.
Police sources said Roy was attempting to flee the state through the Bihar border.
The 12-year-old girl had gone missing on November 3 after leaving her home on a bicycle in the afternoon, according to her family. Her body was recovered two days later from a forest near the Kulik river. Her kin alleged that she had been raped and murdered.
The Raiganj incident is the fourth reported police encounter in West Bengal since the BJP came to power.
Prabhas Mondal, an accused in the rape and murder of a girl in South 24 Parganas district's Baruipur, was killed in an encounter. Police had claimed that he snatched a firearm from personnel while being taken to the crime scene for reconstruction and opened fire, forcing them to retaliate in self-defence.
In Gaighata in North 24 Parganas district, Prahlad Das, arrested following the recovery of the naked body of a Class 11 student, was killed in police firing. He had allegedly attempted to escape during a crime-scene reconstruction exercise. Samaul Haque, arrested for the murder of a BJP worker in Samserganj in Murshidabad district, was also killed in a police encounter.
Reacting to the latest incident, state minister Dilip Ghosh said those who violated the law would have to face the police.
"If anyone acts against the law, takes the law into their own hands or violates it, they will have to face the police. The police may be compelled to take such action in certain circumstances. Let such situations not arise. Everyone should abide by the law," he said.
(This story has not been edited by THE WEEK and is auto-generated from PTI)