Accused in Assam police station arson dies in ‘accident’
The Hindu
Nagaon district police said he was the mastermind of the attack on the Batadrava police station following the alleged custodial death of a fish seller
A person accused of inciting a mob to burn down a police station in central Assam’s Nagaon district died in a road ‘accident’ early on Monday morning.
The Batadrava police station was set on fire by scores on May 21 after the alleged custodial death of a fish seller, identified as 39-year-old Safiqul Islam of Salnabari area. The local administration reacted to the arson by bulldozing the houses of five people accused of involvement in the arson, claiming they had built the structures illegally on encroached land.
Nagaon’s Superintendent of Police Leena Doley told mediapersons that the accident happened in the Raidingiya area around 2.30 a.m. when Ashiqul Islam jumped out of the police vehicle he was in and was hit by another police vehicle. He was said to be the mastermind of the Batadrava police station attack.
She said the accused surrendered before the police on May 29 and confessed to keeping illegal firearms at his house. He was taken by a police team to recover a 7.62 mm pistol, a .22 pistol, seven rounds of bullets and a mobile phone.
“We also recovered the red T-shirt he wore on the day of the Batadrava incident. While returning to the police station, he made an attempt to escape and was hit by another police vehicle that lost control. He was injured and was taken to a hospital where he was declared dead by the doctors,” Ms. Doley said.
She added that the driver of the police vehicle, a sub-inspector and a home guard sustained injuries in the accident.
She also said 11 people had been arrested by the Nagaon police in connection with the arson case so far.
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