Malda: A person has been arrested in relation to the Goalpokhor firing incident. Sk Hazrat had allegedly assisted primary suspect Sajjak Alam and his aide Abdul Hussain. Alam, who had fled from a prison van on Jan 15 after shooting at cops, was gunned down on Saturday. Hazrat has been remanded in police custody for 10 days. Hussain is still on the run and carries a Rs 2 lakh bounty on him.
A Bangladeshi national from Thakurgaon, Hussain had been arrested in 2019 for illegal entry. He met Alam at Raiganj Correctional Home. After he served his sentence under the Foreigner's Act, Hussain was deported to Bangladesh in 2022. On Wednesday, he allegedly gave Alam the firearm at Islampur court. Police are conducting searches in Goalpokhor's Bangladesh border villages.
Meanwhile, the Association for Protection of Democratic Rights (APDR) has sought a judicial probe into Alam's encounter. APDR secretary Ranjit Sur stated: "The manner in which Sajjak Alam was shot dead seems to be a fake encounter, violating human rights. We have demanded a judicial probe on this incident. We also urge the CM to condemn openly the statement of the DGP when he claimed that police would fire four times if they are fired at once. We are soon sending a fact-finding team there." Rangta Munshi, representing another APDR faction, announced plans to conduct their own investigation.