Bengal police kill rape-murder suspect in encounter, fourth such case in five months

A man suspected of raping and murdering a minor girl in West Bengal's North Dinajpur district was shot dead in a police encounter on Monday morning after allegedly opening fire at a police team attempting to arrest him. The deceased has been identified as Dilip Roy, who was wanted in connection with the death of a teenager whose body was recovered from the Kulik forest on November 5.

The incident marks the fourth fatal police encounter involving an accused in a serious criminal case in West Bengal since the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) formed its first government in the state after Independence.

According to police officials, Roy was attempting to flee West Bengal and enter neighbouring Bihar through a forest area when officers tracked him down at around 3.30 am on Monday. He allegedly opened fire at the police team, with a bullet hitting a police vehicle. The personnel retaliated, hitting Roy in the exchange of fire.

He was rushed to Raiganj hospital, where doctors declared him dead on arrival. Police also recovered a pistol from the encounter site.

How the minor girl went missing and was found dead

An officer from North Dinajpur said Roy was suspected of involvement in the gangrape and murder of the teenager, whose body was discovered inside the Kulik forest on November 5.

The girl had left her home on November 3 with her bicycle to attend a tutorial class but did not return thereafter. Her family subsequently reported her missing.

The post-mortem examination of her body indicated that she had been gangraped. Police had launched a search for the suspects and were pursuing Roy in a case registered under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act.

Police had been looking for Roy for four days before tracking him down near the West Bengal-Bihar border. According to reports, officers received information about his whereabouts in the Gouri gram panchayat area and launched an operation to arrest him.

The victim's father expressed relief following Roy's death.

"I am happy with what happened to the man who tortured my daughter," he said.

Fourth encounter since BJP formed government in Bengal

Roy's death is the latest in a series of fatal police encounters reported in West Bengal over the past five months. The first such incident took place in Baruipur in South 24 Parganas district on July 7, when Prabhas Mondal, an accused in the rape and murder of a minor girl, was killed in police firing.

Police had claimed that Mondal attempted to snatch a firearm from personnel while being taken to the crime scene for reconstruction and opened fire, prompting officers to retaliate.

The second incident took place in Gaighata in North 24 Parganas district on October 27. Prahlad Das, an accused in the rape and murder of a minor girl, was shot dead after allegedly attempting to escape during a crime-scene reconstruction exercise.

Within hours, another fatal encounter was reported in Dhulian in Murshidabad district. Samaul Haque, who had been arrested in connection with the murder of a BJP worker, was killed in police firing. He had allegedly attempted to escape after opening fire at police personnel.

Unlike these three earlier incidents, in which the suspects were killed while allegedly attempting to escape from police custody or during crime-scene reconstruction, Roy was shot during an operation to arrest him while he was allegedly trying to flee the state.

Bengal minister issues warning to sexual offenders

Reacting to the latest encounter, Shankar Ghosh, West Bengal's tourism minister and MLA from Siliguri in north Bengal, described the incident as a warning to those involved in crimes against women.

"This is a reminder for criminals who violate the honour of women. Police will strongly deal with such cases. Chief minister Suvendu Adhikari has given clear instructions," Ghosh told the media.

The encounter comes amid the BJP government's stated emphasis on taking strict action against crimes against women and strengthening police action against serious offenders.