Kolkata: A man arrested in the rape and murder of a 17-year-old girl was killed allegedly in a gunfight with the police in West Bengal's North 24 Parganas district on Tuesday, the second such incident in three months, a senior officer said.
The incident took place around 2.50 am in Gaighata, where he was taken for reconstruction of the crime scene.
Suddenly, he snatched the service revolver of a police officer and opened fire on the personnel, leading to retaliatory firing in which the 23-year-old accused sustained gunshot wounds, the officer said.
The accused was taken to a nearby Chandpara Rural Hospital, where doctors declared him dead, she said, adding that the body has been sent for post-mortem examination.
"Our officers had taken the accused to his house to recover the clothes he wore at the time of the crime. While returning, he wanted to relieve himself. He then snatched a service revolver of a police officer and opened fire, prompting the police to retaliate," the officer said.
The circumstances under which the accused managed to snatch the revolver of the officer and the sequence of events leading to the firing are likely to be probed, she said.
No policemen were seriously injured in the firing by the accused, but the vehicle in which he was taken for the reconstruction of the crime scene was damaged a bit, the officer said, adding that the vehicle will undergo forensic examination.
"One of the policemen got minor injuries when he jumped from the vehicle and was provided some basic medication," she said.
The deceased's family members reached the hospital and expressed anger over the incident.
A large police force has been deployed in the area to maintain law and order, and the spot where the alleged firing occurred has been cordoned off, the officer said.
The man was arrested for allegedly raping and killing the Class 11 student, whose body was found outside a neighbour's house in Gaighata on Sunday morning.
The girl had gone to attend a musical programme near her home on Saturday night.
According to the police, the girl had left the venue after receiving a phone call and had not returned home.
The encounter in Gaighata was the second such incident in three months after an accused in the rape and murder of an 11-year-old girl was killed in an alleged gunfight in July.
He had allegedly snatched an officer's revolver and opened fire on the personnel during crime scene reconstruction at Baruipur in South 24 Parganas district, prompting the police to retaliate.
Reacting to the Gaighata incident, senior BJP leader and state Rural Development Minister Dilip Ghosh said the police must take stringent measures to regain the trust of the people in Bengal, where law and order had deteriorated in the TMC regime.
"Nobody is above the law. If someone takes the law into his own hands, this would be the consequence. The police have to deliver justice to the people. Bengal's people had lost faith in the police force. To regain their trust, the police have to take stringent steps that may not be liked by many," Ghosh added.