Overview
- Police say a raid in the Barkundali/Borkandali‑Mikirpar area ended in an exchange of fire that left Moni alias Khairul Ali dead on Tuesday after he was taken to Nagaon Medical College and declared dead.
- Officers reported that suspects opened fire first, police returned fire in self‑defence, and investigators recovered a 7.65 mm pistol, two empty cartridges and several sharp weapons while no police were injured.
- Authorities identified the deceased as the alleged mastermind in the April 24 Morikolong dacoity that left Dr. Ranjit Saikia injured and his wife Ruprekha Bhuyan later dead, and they have added dacoity with murder charges in that case.
- Several alleged gang members and two suspected informers had been arrested in the weeks after the April attack, police say the remaining suspects fled during Tuesday’s operation and a manhunt is under way.
- Officials frame the encounter as part of a wider crackdown on organised robbery in Assam and say investigators will use arrests, hotel records and forensic evidence to map the gang’s links and prevent further attacks.