Man accused in student’s rape and murder dies in police firing

A 23-year-old man accused in the alleged rape and murder of a Class XI student died after police opened fire during crime-scene reconstruction in Gaighata, West Bengal, officials said. The man, identified by police as Prahlad Das, was taken to Chandpara Rural Hospital, where doctors declared him dead. His body was sent for a postmortem examination. Police said they would probe how he obtained an officer’s revolver and the sequence of events that led to the firing. According to police, Das seized the service revolver and fired at officers, who then shot him. The account has not been independently established in the reports. Police accounts differed on whether officers were injured: some said none were hurt, while others reported one or two injuries. The available reporting does not establish the outcome of the announced probe. The fatal encounter occurred in Gaighata, in North 24 Parganas district, while police were recreating the crime scene. One account placed the reconstruction between 3 and 3:30 a.m. Tuesday, while other reports described the incident as occurring late Monday night. The exact sequence and timing have not been established consistently. Das had been arrested...