West Bengal chief minister Suvendu Adhikari has said police have been given a “free hand” to act against those accused of rape, gang rape and sexual harassment, after two recent encounters in which 12 rounds were fired and two accused men died. The police accounts of both incidents have been questioned by the families of the deceased.
Speaking after an administrative meeting in Raiganj in North Dinajpur, Adhikari said the government would follow a zero-tolerance approach towards crimes against women. “Whatever needs to be done will be done. Women have nothing to worry about. I have given police a free hand,” he said, according to the Times of India report.
Adhikari said officers would be expected to assess situations on the spot and take appropriate action in serious cases involving crimes against women. He also said he would stand by police personnel who acted within the scope of their duties. The remarks came as police described the deaths at Gaighata and Shamsherganj as encounters linked to alleged attempts by the accused to escape and use firearms.
At Shamsherganj, police said Samaul Haque had snatched a revolver from a deputy superintendent of police-rank officer and allegedly attempted to fire it. The Criminal Investigation Department said Haque misfired twice. An inspector then fired twice, according to the police account, and Haque was fatally shot.
A forensic team visited the Shamsherganj site with three other accused persons on Thursday. Investigators examined a broken window of a room and collected samples to establish the distance involved in the shooting through ballistic testing. The police account is expected to be assessed alongside the physical evidence gathered at the scene.
Haque’s wife, Rajeda Khatun, said she believed her husband could eventually be proven innocent and sought government assistance to support his elderly parents and two minor children. Her statement adds a rehabilitation and compensation concern to the questions surrounding the encounter.
At Gaighata, police said seven rounds were fired during an early-morning incident involving Prahlad Das, an accused in a rape-murder case. Police alleged that Das snatched the service revolver of sub-inspector Abhik Kotal and fired three rounds during an escape attempt. The shots struck the police vehicle’s window, while Kotal suffered injuries to his hands and legs and was admitted to Bongaon Sub-Divisional Super Speciality Hospital.
Kotal, who joined the Bengal Police in 2021, has been praised for his conduct during the incident. Das’s mother, Rekha, rejected the police narrative, questioned the encounter and sought compensation from the state. The competing accounts mean that the forensic examination, ballistic findings and any subsequent official inquiry will be important in establishing what occurred at both locations.
