Assam Police today shot dead an alleged contract killer wanted for two murder cases
The Assam Police today shot dead an alleged contract killer wanted for two murder cases in the state's Chirang district. The shooting happened after the accused tried to snatch a gun from a police officer, the police said.
This is the second incident of police firing at an accused in a week. A cattle thief was earlier shot on the leg this morning in Upper Assam's Dibrugarh district.
The Assam Police has shot at 14 instances at accused in their custody who, according to the police, tried to escape since June 1. Two of them have died.
Abdul Khaleque, 20, was arrested in connection with the murder of a Home Guard employee, Iyad Ali, who was stabbed to death for a payment by Safiur Rehman, a pharmacist.
"In our investigation, we found that Safiur Rehman, due to a personal animosity, had put out a contract of Rs 1.5 lakh against the Home Guard and got him killed by two contract killers Ayub and Abdul," police officer SP Gaurav Upadhyay told reporters today.
"On the night of the incident, Abdul, a seasoned criminal, along with Ayub ambushed Iyad near Bhandara. Ayub, a first-time offender, stabbed the man and returned home to hide the weapon. Abdul later wiped the knife clean with a handkerchief," the police officer said.
On Wednesday night, a team of police, guided by the two accused who were arrested yesterday, went to retrieve the murder weapon.
"After finding the weapons, we had to retrieve the handkerchief with which Abdul claimed to have wiped the knife as it had the victim's bloodstains. While taking the police there, Abdul seized a gun from a police officer and pointed it at the police. A retaliatory firing happened," the police officer said.
Abdul was rushed to a hospital nearby, where he was declared brought dead. He had served sentence for murdering his wife and burying her body in his courtyard.
Both the pharmacist Saidur and Ayub are in police custody.
On July 3, Kunwaldeep Singh Sidhu, an accused in a kidnapping case, was shot dead when he tried to escape by snatching a police officer's gun in Karbi Anglong, the police has said.
According to police records, 15 people were injured and three were killed in firing by the police since June 1. While five alleged cattle thieves were injured in a police shootout, seven others - two men accused of rape, two men arrested for drug smuggling and one arrested for abduction - were injured when police fired at them for allegedly trying to escape from custody.
Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on Monday said such shooting becomes necessary when people accused of serious crimes try to escape.