The “police had to open fire” to stop prime accused in the Jorhat lynching case – Niraj Das, alias Kola Lora – from escaping.
This was stated by Assam chief minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on Wednesday while reacting to the death of the prime accused.
“I haven’t received the full report yet. But as far as I have come to know, the accused tried to escape and the police had to open fire to stop him that resulted in his death,” Assam CM Himanta Biswa Sarma said.
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As per initial reports, prime accused in the horrific Jorhat lynching case – Niraj Das, alias Kola Lora, was killed in an accident in the wee hours of Wednesday.
The accident took place at Jorhat in Assam after accused Niraj Das, alias Kola Lora, tried to flee from police custody and jumped out of the car.
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Soon after he jumped out of the police car he was on board, the following police vehicle lost control and hit him on the road.
Three policemen also sustained injuries in the accident.
The accused and the three policemen were immediately shifted to the Jorhat Medical College and Hospital (JMCH).
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However, the doctors at the JMCH pronounced Niraj Das, the accused, dead.
Niraj Das had allegedly misled the police to the spot where he met the accident by assuring them of helping in identifying drug trade spots.
“The incident took place at around 1:30am Wednesday. He (Niraj Das) was a drug smuggler. He had assured us of helping in identifying drug trade spots in Jorhat. So, we took him to bust drug network. But it now appears that he was misleading us. He had planned to escape from police custody by taking us to that place,” a police official told the media.
He added: “He jumped out of the police vehicle. The car that followed, which was also a police vehicle, lost control by seeing him jump out of a running car and instead accidently hit the accused leading to his death.”
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“Three of our men have also sustained injuries in the accident and are being treated at the JMCH,” the police official further said.
The prime accused, Niraj Das, alias Kola Lora was arrested by the police in Assam’s Jorhat on Tuesday.
Kola Lora allegedly instigated and led the irate mob in lynching AASU leader Animesh Bhuyan in Jorhat town on Monday afternoon.
Meanwhile, people in Jorhat town and Dergaon town in Golaghat district of Assam are seen celebrating the death of prime accused Kola Lora.
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People are seen bursting crackers to ‘celebrate’ the death of the accused, who is a notorious criminal.
The police in Assam’s Jorhat have arrested 12 more persons in connection with the lynching case.
Meanwhile, the Assam government has announced ex-gratia of Rs 5 lakh for the family of the victim AASU leader Animesh Bhuyan.