Jorhat Mob Lynching: Police Had to Open Fire on Prime Accused, Says CM Sarma

Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on Wednesday said that the police had to open fire to stop the prime accused of Jorhat mob lynching, Niraj Das alias Kola Lora from escaping police custody.

The Chief Minister said that he have not received the full report yet but as far as he knows, the accused tried to escape and the police had to open fire to stop him.

Earlier, it was stated that the prime accused of the Jorhat mob lynching case, Niraj Das was killed in an accident by an escort of police in the wee hours on Wednesday.

According to reports, the accident took place at Jorhat after the accused tried to flee from police custody and jumped out of the car.

After he jumped from the police car he was on board, the following police vehicle lost control and hit him on the road.

Three police personnel also sustained injuries in the accident. The four injured including the accused were rushed to Jorhat Medical College and Hospital (JMCH). However, the accused was declared dead by the doctors at JMCH.

Niraj Das had allegedly misled the police to the spot where he met the accident by assuring them of helping in identifying drug trade spots.  

"The incident took place at around 1:30am Wednesday. He (Niraj Das) was a drug smuggler. He had assured us of helping in identifying drug trade spots in Jorhat. So, we took him to bust drug network. But it now appears that he was misleading us. He had planned to escape from police custody by taking us to that place," a police official told the media. 

He added: "He jumped out of the police vehicle. The car that followed, which was also a police vehicle, lost control by seeing him jump out of a running car and instead accidently hit the accused leading to his death."  

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