A two-member forensic team examined the body of Dilip Roy, the site of his fatal encounter with police and a bullet mark on a police vehicle as part of an inquiry into his death in Raiganj, West Bengal. The examination has also raised questions about how Roy, described as a poor daily wage earner, obtained a 9mm pistol allegedly used during the incident.
According to a report by the Times of India, the forensic team visited Raiganj on Tuesday after Roy died in the early hours of Monday. Its first stop was Raiganj Medical College and Hospital, where Roy’s postmortem was conducted. Experts examined the bullet marks on his body as part of the evidence-gathering process.
Roy’s body remains at the hospital after his mother refused to take it, the report said. Sources cited by the newspaper said that Roy had three bullet marks on his body. The forensic examination is expected to document the nature and location of the injuries, although the supplied report does not provide any conclusion from the team about the sequence of firing or the circumstances of Roy’s death.
The team later visited the encounter site at Pararpukur Ghat, near the Bihar border. Police reportedly said they retaliated after Roy opened fire at them. No police personnel were hit, but a bullet struck a police vehicle. Forensic experts examined the mark on the vehicle and collected samples from the location where the exchange allegedly took place.
The investigation is unfolding in a border area where the movement of illicit arms has previously been a concern, according to the report. Questions have focused on the source of the 9mm pistol, which sources described as a Munger-made weapon. The report said such pistols can cost more than Rs 1 lakh in the clandestine market, in addition to the cost of ammunition.
That cost has become a central question because Roy was described as a poor daily wage earner. Sources cited by the Times of India suggested that his proximity to the Bihar border and alleged connections there may have helped him obtain the weapon. These claims have not been independently established in the supplied report, and the forensic visit itself does not confirm how the pistol was acquired.
The examination of the body, the encounter site and the police vehicle represents the immediate evidence-gathering stage of the inquiry. The supplied report does not state whether the weapon has been recovered, whether ballistic testing has been completed, or whether any independent account of the firing has been recorded. Further findings from the forensic process and the police investigation will be required to establish the sequence of events and the source of the firearm.
