'Should police offer them sweets?' Bengal CM’s retort as 5th encounter in Bengal

The hunt for Ratan Sheikh ended on Sunday afternoon near a bridge in Nanoor, in a burst of gunfire that police say he started. Two days after he allegedly shot a constable in the leg during an arrest attempt, the history-sheeter was dead, killed by officers who say they were returning fire. He is the fifth person to die in a police encounter in West Bengal since the BJP government under Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari took office in May.

On Friday evening (November 13), a team from Santiniketan police station went to the Layekbazar bus stand area in Bolpur to arrest Sheikh in connection with pending cases. Police say he had been out on bail in one of them. Sheikh allegedly opened fire and hit constable Biswajit Das in the leg. Das was treated at Bolpur Sub-Divisional Hospital and later shifted to Burdwan Medical College and Hospital. Police recovered spent shells of roughly 7.5 mm calibre from the scene.

Police intensified the search across several jurisdictions in Birbhum, including Bolpur, Nanoor, Kirnahar and Santiniketan. On Saturday, Adhikari visited the injured constable in hospital and ordered a focused search. He also publicly questioned how Sheikh had won bail despite a long list of cases. Police sources said teams traced Sheikh on Sunday. During questioning aimed at recovering the weapon used on Friday, he allegedly led officers to a spot near a bridge or brick kiln area in Nanoor. There, police say, he fired again and the rounds hit a police vehicle. Officers returned fire in self-defence, and Sheikh was hit. He was declared dead at Bolpur Sub-Divisional Hospital, and his body was sent to the morgue. By early evening, Birbhum police had not issued a formal public statement on the death.

Police described him as a long-time offender from Santra village under Nanoor police station. Cases against him were registered at the Nanoor, Bolpur and Santiniketan stations and involved theft, robbery, narcotics and other offences. Figures cited by police and the Chief Minister ranged from more than a dozen to 36 pending cases.

"Should the police offer them sweets?"

Reacting to the killing, CM Suvendhu Adhikari asked reporters: "If someone opens fire at the police, should the police offer them sweets?"

He said criminals have no place in the state. He added that police had done what was required on the spot, that there is no room for goons, rapists or those carrying illegal arms, and that remaining elements should leave the state. The Chief Minister had earlier said Sheikh was among those arrested after the change of government. He questioned the circumstances of his recent bail, including the role of the public prosecutor.

A pattern under scrutiny

In the earlier cases, police accounts generally said the deceased opened fire or tried to snatch a service weapon during arrest, reconstruction or related operations, and that officers returned fire.

• Early July, Baruipur (South 24 Parganas):Prabhas Mondal, accused in the rape and murder of a 13-year-old girl, was killed after allegedly trying to snatch an officer's firearm.
• October 27, Gaighata (North 24 Parganas):Prahlad Das, accused in the rape-murder of a 13-year-old, was killed during a crime-scene reconstruction after allegedly seizing a revolver and firing.
• October 27, Samserganj (Murshidabad):Samiul Sheikh, named as a prime suspect in the murder of BJP worker Sujit Mondal, was killed in similar circumstances, with police alleging an attempt to snatch a weapon.
• Early November, Raiganj (Uttar Dinajpur):Dilip Roy, accused in the rape-murder of a 12-year-old girl, was killed near the Bengal-Bihar border after allegedly firing at police.

The government has defended the killings as legitimate self-defence and says police have been given operational freedom, particularly in crimes against women and cases involving serious offenders. Opposition voices and some rights activists have questioned the pattern and the accountability for such incidents