Nalbari machete attack accused killed in cop firing

Guwahati: A youth accused of attacking a 17-year-old girl and killing her brother with a machete in Assam’s Nalbari district was killed in police firing on Monday morning, police said.

Police said the accused, in his early 20s, snatched a self-loading rifle from a policeman and opened fire on the police team while being taken to recover the murder weapon. “He fired four rounds at our team and it hit our vehicles. In retaliation, police opened fire at him and one bullet hit his chest,” Nalbari senior SP Bibekananda Das said.

Police identified the accused as Roz Ali alias Ashik Ali. Although he was rushed to hospital, doctors pronounced him dead, police said.

According to police, he attacked Madhurjya Barman (20) and his 17-year-old cousin sister on Sunday evening after she rejected his love proposal.

The attack took place in Gangapur village near Jagara when the two were returning home on a two-wheeler from Nalbari town after purchasing books, police said.

The girl, a Class 11 student, was admitted to Nalbari Medical College and Hospital and was referred to Gauhati Medical College and Hospital (GMCH) around midnight on Sunday.

Barman was an assistant secretary of Paschim Nalbari Aanchalik Satra Santha, a regional unit of the All Assam Students’ Union (Aasu).

“The youth suffered cuts on his head and neck in the machete attack, and he was immediately brought to Nalbari Medical College and Hospital, where doctors declared him dead,” Das said.

Police said they received a tip-off that Ali was hiding at an interior ‘char’ in Mukalmua and a team went there to arrest him. Police said he had fled to the riverine island on Sunday night.

Police sources described the incident as a case of rejected love. “As per information, Ali had proposed to her some time back. Aggrieved at the rejection, Ali had threatened to kill her in front of her parents. Ali attacked Barman when the latter tried to protect his sister,” a source said.

Local MLA Jayanta Malla Baruah, who visited the injured girl, said, “She sustained multiple injuries including in head, neck and chest. She is now in a critical condition. This is a concerning incident. This type of incident did not happen in Nalbari before.”

“The accused was killed in a police encounter when police had to resort to open fire after the accused tried to flee snatching arms of a police personnel,” he added.

The MLA said, “Incidents of love jihad are increasing. Govt will be very strict. Police will investigate the case in a foolproof manner. The UCC passed by the assembly recently was necessitated by such acts of love jihad. We will have to take stringent measures to prevent such incidents.”

He said the govt would take care of the girl’s treatment.

Aasu president Utpal Sarma demanded a thorough probe. “Aasu staged a protest in Nalbari on Monday demanding justice. The union will hold state wide protests if justice is not delivered,” he said.

At GMCH, hospital authorities said the girl remained critical.

“It cannot be said at this moment that she is out of danger. A team of doctors from the department of ENT, neurosurgery, psychiatry and general surgery have been providing treatment to the patient as of now. If required, neurology doctors will be engaged; however, that will be based on the MRI test findings. The MRI test will be conducted on Tuesday,” GMCH superintendent Devajit Choudhury said.

Choudhury added that the girl was admitted to GMCH around 12.30am on Monday and underwent tests including ultrasound of the stomach, X-ray of the neck, and CT scans of the head and chest.

“The blood test reports show a low level of haemoglobin. That is due to loss of a high quantity of blood. She will get blood transfusion and the hospital has a good amount of blood stock matching her group,” he added.

He said an MRI of the neck and spine would be conducted on Tuesday to assess possible internal bone or nerve injuries.

“The patient is in a post-traumatic shock at present. For that, psychiatric doctors have conducted counselling and prescribed medicines accordingly. Family members are there beside her continuously,” he added.