Rape and murder accused killed in police encounter in West Bengal’s Bongaon
Mangalore Today News Network
Kolkata, Nov 9, 2026: A man accused of raping and murdering a 12-year-old girl was killed in an exchange of fire with police in West Bengal’s Uttar Dinajpur district, officials said.
The accused, identified as Dilip Roy, allegedly opened fire at a police team that had gone to arrest him in a village in the Raiganj area on Sunday night.
Police retaliated in self-defence, injuring Roy. He was rushed to Raiganj Medical College and Hospital, where doctors declared him dead.
According to police, a team had launched a search operation in the Gouri gram panchayat area after receiving information about Roy’s whereabouts. When officers approached him, he allegedly opened fire and attempted to flee. One of the bullets reportedly struck the tyre of a police vehicle.
"We had been searching for the accused for the past four days. Acting on a tip-off, our team traced him in the early hours of Monday. He opened fire at the police team, who retaliated in self-defence," a senior police officer said.
The incident follows the recovery of the body of the 12-year-old girl from a forest area near the Kulik river. The girl had gone missing on November 3 after leaving her home on a bicycle in the afternoon, according to her family.
Her body was recovered two days later in a decomposed condition and without clothes. Her family alleged that she had been raped and murdered.
The Raiganj incident is the fourth reported police encounter in West Bengal since the BJP came to power.
In July, Prabhas Mondal, accused of raping and murdering an 11-year-old girl in Baruipur in South 24 Parganas district, was killed in a police encounter. Police had claimed that he snatched a firearm from personnel while being taken to the crime scene for reconstruction and opened fire, prompting retaliatory firing.
On October 27, Prahlad Das, arrested after the recovery of the body of a Class 11 student in Gaighata in North 24 Parganas district, was killed in police firing. He had allegedly attempted to escape during a crime-scene reconstruction exercise.
On the same day, Samaul Haque, arrested in connection with the murder of a BJP worker in Samserganj in Murshidabad district, was also killed in a police encounter.