An undertrial died after he was shot at by police as he was trying to escape in West Bengal’s Uttar Dinajpur on Saturday morning.
The man, Sajjak Alam, was an accused in a murder case and was taken to a court in North Dinajpur’s Goalpokhar on Wednesday.
However, while he was being brought back from court, he shot two personnel on duty and managed to flee from the police. The two personnel were admitted to a hospital and a search operation was launched to arrest him. The police had announced a reward of Rs 2 lakh for any information about him.
On Friday night, based on a tip-off, a police team conducted searches in Uttar Dinajpur’s Chopra and tracked him as he was trying to flee to Bangladesh, said Additional Director General of West Bengal Police (Law and Order) Javed Shamim.
The police asked him to surrender, but he tried to run away and fired three to four times, prompting the personnel to shoot him, the officer said.
Alam was hit by three bullets on his shoulder, leg and hand, and was rushed to the hospital by the police. He succumbed to his injuries while undergoing treatment.
The incident took place at Tala Bridge in Chopra, which is near the Bangladesh border, Shamim said.
“An investigation is underway to determine if the gun Alam used to fire today was the same gun he had used earlier. We have received information that Alam planned to escape from the court along with another person. Further investigation is on,” he added.
(With inputs from Tanmay Chakraborty)