Two Police Encounters in Bengal Leave Two Accused Dead

Kolkata, October 27: Two separate police encounters in West Bengal on Tuesday have left two accused dead, drawing attention to law enforcement actions in the state.

In Murshidabad, Samaun Sheikh, an accused in the Sujit Mandal murder case, was shot during a CID crime scene reconstruction in Samserganj. Sources said he tried to flee, after which officers opened fire. He was taken to Anupnagar Hospital, where he died. Mandal had gone missing in August, and some of his body parts were recovered from the Farakka Feeder canal in September.

In a second incident, police encounter in Gaighata area of North 24 Parganas district killed Prahlad Das, accused of raping and murdering a minor. The victim's family welcomed the police action.

The father of the deceased girl said, "We will not get our daughter back, but the police have done the right thing. From what we have learned so far, the accused snatched a policeman's gun and tried to escape, and he also fired at the police. The police acted correctly, and he was killed in retaliatory firing. He deserved this end."

A neighbour of the victim's family said such encounters are quite common in cases like this. She said the crime committed against the 17-year-old was beyond mercy and that the accused's actions after the crime justified the outcome.

Another neighbour said the accused's behaviour in police custody showed he felt no remorse for the crime against the minor. According to this neighbour, he tried to snatch a policeman's weapon and attempted to attack the escorting officers.

Both cases highlight the intense public debate around police encounters in the state.