Gaighata rape-murder case: After Baruipur, another accused dies in police firing in West Bengal, a day after FIR

Prahlad Das, the man accused of raping and murdering a 17-year-old girl in West Bengal's Gaighata, was shot dead in an exchange of fire with police late on Monday night, October 26, according to police sources. He died barely a day after the case was registered.

Police say Das was taken to the crime scene at around 11.50 pm for reconstruction of the incident. The team then went to his residence to recover the clothes he allegedly wore during the crime. The incident is the second alleged police encounter death in West Bengal since the BJP government took office in May 2026. The first, reported earlier, involved Prabhas Mondal, the key accused in the gang rape and murder of a 12-year-old girl whose body was recovered from a pond on July 5. Police say Mondal, too, was shot dead after snatching an officer’s service firearm during a nighttime crime-scene reconstruction.

On the way back to the police station, the police account says, Das asked to relieve himself. The vehicle was stopped, and he was allowed to step out. It was then, officers claim, that he snatched a sub-inspector's service revolver and fired three rounds at the officer in a bid to escape.

Other personnel at the scene returned fire with four rounds, hitting Das. The sub-inspector was injured, and the police vehicle was damaged, sources said.

Das was rushed to Chandpara Block Primary Health Centre, where the duty medical officer declared him brought dead. The injured sub-inspector remains under observation. The officer-in-charge of Gaighata Police Station was directed to send a team to secure the site and proceed to the hospital, and legal formalities are underway.

The case was registered at Gaighata Police Station on October 25 under Sections 103(1) and 66 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) and Section 6 of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act.