Suspect in Birbhum Policemans Murder Killed in Police Encounter
A suspect in the murder of a policeman in Birbhum was shot dead in a police encounter, marking the fifth such incident in West Bengal this year.
Birbhum, November 15 (Daily Kiran) : A key suspect in the murder of a police constable in Birbhum district was shot dead in a police encounter on Sunday afternoon. Ratan Sheikh was accused of killing the officer last week, marking the fifth such incident in West Bengal since July.
According to sources from the Birbhum district police, officers received a tip-off about Sheikh hiding in a brick kiln in Charcoal village, within the jurisdiction of the Nanur police station. A police team was dispatched to apprehend him.
As the police arrived at the scene, Sheikh opened fire on the officers. In response, the police returned fire, injuring Sheikh. He was quickly taken to a local hospital, where he was pronounced dead by doctors.
This encounter followed an incident on November 13, when local police attempted to apprehend Sheikh in the Lik Bazaar area of Bolpur-Shantiniketan. During that raid, Sheikh fired at the police and managed to escape, severely injuring Constable Biswajit Das, who is currently receiving treatment in a Kolkata hospital. West Bengal Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari visited him to assess his condition.
Police records indicate that Sheikh, a resident of Santa village in Nanur, was a habitual criminal with 35 pending cases against him, ranging from illegal possession of firearms to drug trafficking. Although he had been arrested previously, he was released on bail before the November 13 raid.
Earlier this year, several high-profile cases involving police encounters have occurred in West Bengal. In July, Prabhas Mandal, accused of the rape and murder of a six-year-old girl in South 24 Parganas, was shot while allegedly attempting to seize an officer’s weapon during a reconstruction of the crime scene. In October, Prahlad Das, implicated in the rape and murder of a 17-year-old girl, was killed while trying to flee from police. Additionally, Samirul Sheikh, arrested for the murder of a BJP worker, was shot during a separate police encounter on the same day.
In November, Dilip Roy, the main suspect in the alleged rape and murder of a minor girl in North Dinajpur, was shot when he fired at officers attempting to arrest him.
