Sajjak Alam, Main Accused In Goalpokhar Police Shooting, Killed In Encounter

Sajjak Alam, the main suspect in the Goalpokhar police shooting, was killed by police while attempting to escape.

Raiganj: Sajjak Alam, the main suspect in the shooting of two policemen at Goalpokhar police station, was shot and killed by the police on Friday night while attempting to flee across the Kichkatola bridge in Sahapur, sources said.

According to officials, the police had received a tip-off and were closely monitoring the area when they spotted Sajjak trying to escape. "In an attempt to stop him, the police opened fire. He was critically injured and rushed to Lodhan Rural Hospital, where doctors declared him dead," officials added.

Sajjak, an undertrial prisoner, had earlier made headlines on January 14 when he shot two policemen and escaped while being transported from Islampur court to Raiganj. He had freed himself from the police van at Ikarchila village and shot Neelkant Sarkar and Deben Vaishya, both of whom were stationed at Kahandighi police station.

Sarkar suffered two gunshot wounds to the stomach, while Vaishya was shot under the right rib. Both officers underwent emergency surgery that night and are recovering from their injuries.

Following Sajjak's escape, the North Dinajpur District Police announced a reward of Rs two lakh for information leading to his capture. West Bengal Director General of Police (DGP) Rajeev Kumar, who visited the injured officers and later met senior officials in Siliguri on Thursday, expressed strong condemnation of the attack on police personnel.

"The police are here to serve and protect the public, but we will retaliate decisively if miscreants fire at us. We are well-trained and capable of handling such situations," the top police official said.