Police recovered a gas cutter, an iron rod and two 7.65 mm handcuffs (File)
Guwahati:
Three alleged bank robbers were shot dead by police in Kokrajhar district of Assam on Sunday when they tried to rob.
They were 800 meters away from their target – the Allahabad Bank branch in Bhotgaon village, about six km from Kokrajhar town – when they were stopped by a police team acting on a tip.
A police statement said the encounter with the alleged robbers took place at Chengmari near Bhotgaon at 2.30 am on August 22 and they opened fire only after they opened fire on them.
After the firing stopped, the police launched a search operation and found that the three alleged robbers were seriously injured. Police said two-three others managed to escape.
“The search operation was on till late night to flush out the rest of the dacoits,” news agency PTI quoted Assam DGP Bhaskarjyoti Mahanta as saying.
Police recovered a 25-litre oxygen and a 14.5-litre gas cylinder (for breaking into bank vaults), an iron rod for breaking doors or windows, and two 7.65 mm handguns with eight bullets and six empty cases. Of.
The injured robbers were taken to a hospital in Kokrajhar but were declared brought dead on arrival.
The items recovered from their bodies – including mobile phones – helped them identify them as Siraj Daula Shaikh of Mankachar district and Monuar Hussain and Aminul Haque of Goalpara district.
Police also said that this was the second such attempt – after one from three months earlier.
Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma has praised the work of the police. “A robbery gang was neutralized by the Assam Police in Kokrajhar. This prevented a major bank robbery,” he was quoted as saying by PTI.
Further investigation into the incident is on.
With input from PTI
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