West Bengal Police shot dead Dilip Roy, the prime accused in the rape and murder of a minor girl, during a pre-dawn exchange of gunfire in Raiganj on Thursday. He was riven by bullets.
A tactical police team intercepted Roy near Gouri Gram Panchayat in Uttar Dinajpur district around 3:30 a.m. following midnight intelligence tracking his movements. When cornered, Roy pulled a firearm and fired directly at the approaching unit, prompting officers to return fire in self-defence, district police officials confirmed. Trapped in the dark, the fugitive sustained severe gunshot trauma before police disarmed him and took him into custody. Medics at the Raiganj Government Medical College and Hospital pronounced him dead on arrival.
Police had booked Roy at Raiganj Police Station under Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita Sections 103(1) for murder, 137(2) and 140(3) for kidnapping and abduction, and 238 for causing disappearance of evidence, alongside Section 6 of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act for aggravated penetrative sexual assault. He had evaded arrest since the assault came to light.
Investigators launched the operation after confidential local assets pinpointed Roy’s hideout near agricultural fields in the Gouri panchayat belt. The raid unfolded within hours. District police secured the perimeter, ordering Roy to surrender before gunfire broke out.
| Case Parameter | Official Detail |
|---|---|
| Accused | Dilip Roy |
| Location of Operation | Gouri Gram Panchayat, Raiganj, Uttar Dinajpur |
| Primary Charges | Sections 103(1), 137(2), 140(3), 238 BNS; Section 6 POCSO Act |
| Outcome | Sustained fatal gunshot trauma; declared dead at RGMC&H |
| State Encounter Count | Fourth fatal police encounter in recent months |
Roy's death marks the fourth fatal encounter carried out by West Bengal law enforcement over the past several months, underscoring an aggressive tactical pivot in high-profile criminal investigations. Three of those fatal shootings involved suspects accused in heinous crimes against women and minors.
Yet the operational circumstances across the incidents show striking similarities. On July 8, Baruipur police fatally shot Prabhas Mondal—the prime accused in the rape and murder of a minor girl in South 24 Parganas—after he allegedly snatched a service pistol during a crime-scene reconstruction. On October 26, Gaighata police gunned down Prahlad Das, accused in the rape and murder of a 17-year-old girl, under nearly identical circumstances when he allegedly grabbed a sub-inspector’s sidearm. Hours later on October 27, CID operatives in Murshidabad's Shamsherganj shot dead Samayun Sheikh, key suspect in the murder of political worker Sujit Mondal, following another purported weapon snatch.
The Raiganj encounter now shifts to mandatory judicial oversight. Under standard statutory protocols for fatal police actions, the district administration will conduct a magisterial inquiry and submit post-mortem records alongside ballistic forensics to the state human rights commission.