Encounter at Jirighat : Drug Mafia Shot Dead After Firing At Cachar Police

A suspected drug mafia member was killed and two police personnel were injured during an encounter at Bumapunji in Jirighat along the Assam-Manipur border on Wednesday night, police said. The operation was carried out in connection with the 5 May shooting of Cachar Police constable Sharif Hussain Kazi, who remains under treatment after being shot during an anti-drug operation at Dighlang Basti in Jirighat.

According to Cachar Police, teams had been conducting continuous operations over the past few days to trace all those linked to the earlier attack on the police constable. Acting on intelligence inputs, a police team reached Bumapunji on the night of 13 May to apprehend two prime accused believed to be hiding in the area.

Police said the main accused, identified as Seilun Doungel, allegedly possessed the pistol used in the attack on constable Sharif Hussain Kazi. When officers asked him to surrender, he allegedly opened fire on the police team and attempted to escape. In the exchange of fire that followed, two police personnel, identified as Navojit Tanti of the Commando Battalion and Santosh Biswas, sustained injuries.

Despite wearing a bulletproof jacket, Navojit Tanti was hit during the firing. Police retaliated and critically injured the accused, who was taken to Silchar Medical College and Hospital, where doctors declared him dead.

Addressing the media, Cachar Senior Superintendent of Police Sanjib Kumar Saikia said the deceased was originally from Manipur and was allegedly linked to a Kuki militant outfit known as the United Kuki Liberation Army. He further stated that the accused was the main suspect in the earlier shooting incident involving constable Sharif Hussain Kazi.

The body of the deceased has been sent for post-mortem examination, while the injured police personnel are undergoing treatment. Police investigations into the case are continuing.