Assam: Dacoit killed in gunfight with police
Guwahati: A dacoit, wanted in a murder case, was killed in a gunfight with the police in Assam's Chirang district on Wednesday, officials said.
A group of dacoits had attacked a house in Kamarpara in Dhaligaon police station area on Tuesday, and as the family raised an alarm, they escaped after opening fire, in which a man was killed, police said.
On being informed, police rushed to the spot and launched a combing operation in the area, they said.
The police were fired upon by the dacoits near a bridge on Aie river. A heavy exchange of fire followed in which one of the dacoits was killed while the others fled from the spot, they added.
The dacoit killed in the gunfight was identified as Manjit Basumatary, police said.
It was suspected that this incident was linked to a group of former National Liberation Front of Bodoland (NLFB) militants. Two members of that group were killed in a gunfight with the police on Tuesday, they said.
Assam has witnessed a spurt in police encounters since Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma assumed office on May 10 last year.
