MORIGOAN: The prime accused in the alleged gang rape and murder of a minor girl at Bhurgaon in Assam's Morigaon district was injured in police firing when he tried to flee from custody in the early hours of Friday, an officer said.
The accused, Sayad Ali, was taken by the police to the crime scene and at Gasarguri point on Morigaon-Bhuragaon PWD road, he tried to flee when the police convoy stopped to move him to another vehicle, Morigaon, Superintendent of Police, Aparna Natarajan said.
"The accused tried to flee from police custody at around 2 am. Police resorted to two rounds of firing and he was injured in it," she said.
He has been shifted to Gauhati Medical College and Hospital, the SP added.
Sixty-five-year-old Ali was arrested on June 27 as the main accused in the suspected gang rape and murder of a nine- year-old girl at Balidunga village, under Bhuragaon police station, of Morigaon district.
The victim was found dead in a jute field near the Brahmaputra river on June 20, and was suspected to have been gang raped and killed.
Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma, accompanied by the Director General of Police, had visited Bhuragaon on June 25 to take stock of the progress of investigation.
During his meeting with the parents of the victim, the chief minister, who also holds the Home portfolio, had assured of speedy justice.