Prahlad Das, the accused in the rape and murder of a minor girl at Gaighata in West Bengal’s North 24 Parganas district last week, was killed in an encounter on the intervening night of Monday and Tuesday.
Although the state police are yet to officially give any reaction on the matter, sources aware of the development said that after being arrested, Das was taken to the crime spot on the intervening night of Monday and Tuesday for reconstruction of the scene. Suddenly, the accused snatched the firearm of an escorting cop and also fired towards the policemen.
The escorting cops resorted to counter-firing, leaving the accused seriously injured. He was rushed to a nearby state-run hospital, where he was declared dead.
The ‘encounter-killing’ at Gaighata is virtually a re-run of a similar encounter at Baruipur in South 24 Paragans in July, where Pravas Mondal, one of the prime accused in a similar rape-murder of a minor girl, was killed. In that case, too, the accused was taken to the spot for reconstruction of the crime scene. As per the police, Mondal tried to escape after snatching the firearm of an on-duty escorting cop and then fired at the policemen. The police fired in self-defence, leading to the death of the accused.
In the Gaighata case, the family members of the deceased accused rushed to the hospital after receiving the news of his death on Tuesday morning. A tense situation has arisen in the area over the incident. A large number of police personnel have been deployed in the hospital premises to control the situation.
On Monday morning, the body of a 17-year-old minor girl, allegedly raped and murdered, was recovered near her relative’s house. On the basis of her family’s allegation, Das, also a relative of the victim, was first detained for questioning and then arrested.
It is learnt that the girl went out with her family members and friends on the night of October 24 to attend a musical programme near her house, which continued till late at night.
The victim’s family members claimed that around midnight, the girl received a call on her mobile phone, following which she left the venue and did not return. After the function ended, her family members started looking for her, but could not trace her. Finally, on Sunday morning, her body was recovered near the relative’s house.
