Guwahati: Two arrested persons were killed in police firing on Saturday night while allegedly trying to flee custody in south Assam’s Cachar district.
The deceased have been identified as Abul Hussain Barbhuiya alias Abu, 26, and Kamrul Islam alias Lakoi, 35.
While Abul was a resident of Uttar Krishnapur in the Cachar district, Kamrul hailed from Saidpur of the district.
Police said one of the two featured in the list of ‘most-wanted persons’ in the district for his alleged involvement in extortion, kidnapping, dacoity and vehicle-lifting cases.
Cachar SP Ramandeep Kaur on Sunday said, “On June 30, a case was registered at Silchar Sadar police station in connection with a shootout at Rangirkhari of Silchar town over a property dispute. As we started probing the case, we got a lead that Abul Hussain was heading towards Meghalaya in a car.
“Based on the information, the team managed to nab the accused from a vehicle in Meghalaya’s Jorabat area. Two others, identified as Lakoi and Anowar, wanted in several cases, were also apprehended from the same vehicle,” she said.
All three of them were being brought to Silchar in two vehicles by the police team on Saturday night, when the duo, nabbed alongside the accused of the land dispute case, tried to flee custody, taking advantage of darkness, SP Kaur claimed.
“Due to heavy traffic on the road, the vehicle with the accused in the land dispute case fell behind. The other vehicle, too, was moving at a slow pace, but the two criminals in that police van tried to escape, taking advantage of darkness,” she claimed.
The Silchar police station officer-in-charge, who was accompanying the duo, and the other personnel chased them down, and had to resort to firing to stop them.
Kaur said the two were initially taken to Kalain primary health centre, and after first aid, they were shifted to Silchar Medical College and Hospital, where doctors declared them “brought dead”.
At least 54 people have been killed and 139 injured in police action while allegedly trying to flee custody or for attacking police personnel since the BJP government, led by Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma, assumed office in May last year.