Kolkata: The first person arrested in connection with the death of a 12-year-old girl at Baruipur in South 24 Parganas district of West Bengal, was killed in a police encounter early on Wednesday after he allegedly tried to flee by snatching a service rifle from an escorting officer.

According to West Bengal Police sources, Prabhas Mondal had been taken to the crime scene late on Tuesday night as part of the investigation to recreate the sequence of events linked to the case.

Accused allegedly snatched police rifle during reconstruction

Police said that while the reconstruction exercise was underway, Mondal allegedly grabbed a service rifle from one of the officers escorting him and attempted to escape.

Officials claimed that police personnel immediately chased him. During the pursuit, Mondal allegedly opened fire at the officers using the rifle he had snatched.

The police then returned fire. Mondal sustained bullet injuries during the exchange.

He was taken to a nearby hospital, where doctors declared him dead.

Girl's body recovered from pond

The case relates to the death of a 12-year-old girl whose body was recovered from a pond in the Suryapur area of Baruipur on Sunday morning.

Police suspect that the minor was raped and murdered.

The discovery of the girl's body triggered widespread anger in the area, with residents staging protests and demanding the immediate arrest of those responsible as well as strict punishment for the accused.

SIT formed to investigate case

Following the incident, the police constituted a six-member Special Investigation Team (SIT) to investigate the case.

Mondal was arrested on Sunday evening, becoming the first accused to be taken into custody.

Based on information gathered during his interrogation, police later arrested two more accused, Dibakar Sarkar and Ananda Sardar.

Investigators have identified Ananda Sardar as the prime accused and the alleged mastermind behind the crime.

CCTV footage led police to first accused

According to statements recorded from local residents, the minor girl was last seen in the company of the accused before she went missing on Saturday afternoon.

During the investigation, police recovered CCTV footage from the locality that allegedly showed Mondal with the girl shortly before her disappearance.

Based on the footage, officers arrested him.

Police claimed that during questioning, Mondal was not cooperating with investigators and was giving contradictory statements.

Police were recreating sequence of events

Investigators said they wanted to reconstruct the alleged crime and determine Mondal's exact role in the sequence of events.

For that purpose, he was taken to the crime scene in the early hours of Wednesday.

Police alleged that it was during this reconstruction exercise that Mondal attempted to escape after snatching the escorting officer's service rifle. They further claimed that he fired at the pursuing officers with the weapon, prompting the police to open retaliatory fire, during which he was fatally injured.

Agency inputs