In a horrific incident, a mentally sick person hacked to death six people including two of his children in Khowai district of west Tripura.
A police inspector also died at the spot while trying to capture the killer. Tripura Chief Minister Biplab Kumar Deb expressed grief over the deaths of innocent people and paid tribute to the slain police officer, terming him a martyr.
The incident occurred at North Ramchandraghat, 57 km northeast of Agartala, in the wee hours of Saturday.
Police said Pradip Debroy, who was suffering from mental illness for long, started hitting his family members with a digging bar. He first chose to beat his two children with it till they died.
He then turned to hit his wife, leaving her critically wounded. She later succumbed to injuries at GBP Hospital here. Reports said the killer’s brother also suffered similar fate.
After hacking his family members, Pradip rushed out of his house and sprang in front of an auto rickshaw. He mowed down one passenger and critically injured two.
When informed, Inspector Satyajit Mallick of Khowai police station led a security contingent to the spot and attempted to capture him. Pradip hit Mallick with the weapon, leaving him dead on the spot.
A number of other policemen were also wounded.
Pradip was caught alive after a large number of local residents and security reinforcement intervened. He is being kept in a solitary lock-up of Khowai police station.
Condoling the death of Inspector Satyajit Mallick, a senior Khowai district police officer said the officer should have fired shots at legs of the killer to pave his capture.
The Chief Minister expressed his grief over the death of innocents in the tragic incident. He also paid tribute to the ‘martyred’ police officer.
