A fierce encounter in Assam's Goalpara, near Meghalaya border, left four members of an armed gang dead in the early hours of Sunday, said police sources. The action was carried out based on intelligence inputs that the gang was preparing to kidnap a local businessman, they added.
The operation was led by the Senior Superintendent of Police, Goalpara, Navaneet Mahanta, and his counterpart in South Salmara-Mankachar, Abhilash Barua, the sources said. The kidnappers were allegedly from Meghalaya.
The group carrying firearms had been moving around in Goalpara and its surrounding areas for a few weeks, the sources said, adding that the police were closely tracking them.
Acting on specific inputs, the police confronted them. The encounter lasted for an hour. Two of them were killed within minutes, while two others were critically injured and died later at Dhupdhara Model Hospital, sources said.
The dead were identified as Mukunda Rabha, Subur Ali, Zahidul Islam, and Chengbat Marak. They are suspected to be part of a network involved in extortion, kidnappings, and illegal arms trafficking in Goalpara and adjoining districts for several months.
