Assam's 'Dabang cop' Junmoni Rabha killed in road accident

Nagaon: A woman sub-inspector of Assam Police, known for her strict actions against criminals, was killed when her car collided head-on with a container truck in Nagaon district on early Tuesday, officials said.

Junmoni Rabha, 30, popularly known as 'Lady Singham' or 'Dabang cop' after Hindi police movies, was alone in her private car and not in uniform.

The accident occurred at Sarubhugia village under Jakhalabandha police station of Kaliabor Sub-Division. The CID will investigate the accident, besides an extortion case registered against her hours before the accident.

Suspecting criminality, her family demanded an impartial probe into the accident.

"After getting intimation at around 2:30 am, a police patrol party reached the spot and took her to a nearby hospital. Doctors there declared her dead," Jakhalabandha Police Station Officer-in-Charge Pawan Kalita said.

The container truck, bearing registration number of Uttar Pradesh, was seized by the police, but the driver fled from the spot after the accident, he added.

Nagaon Superintendent of Police Leena Doley reached the spot in the morning to take stock of the situation.

The police, however, have no clue why the SI was going alone in civil clothes without any security in her private car towards Upper Assam.

Her family members also expressed unawareness about her movement. They, however, suspected criminality and demanded an impartial probe to find out the truth behind her death.

Speaking to the media here, the dead cop's mother Sumitra Rabha alleged that it was a case of pre-planned murder "by some unidentified racket".

She along with Junmoni's aunt Subarna Bodo appealed to Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma to conduct an impartial enquiry into the matter and to give justice to the family by punishing the perpetrators of the "planfully created" accident.

Subarna Bodo further claimed: "On Monday night, a team of higher police officials conducted a raid at Junmoni's official quarter in Nagaon and seized around ₹ 1 lakh. Her mother was also present during the raid." She claimed that the seized money belonged to Junmoni's mother, who had earned it from her small home-based business of poultry and pig farming.

She appealed to the police to return the money for performing Junmoni's rituals.

Meanwhile, Assam Director General of Police Gyanendra Pratap Singh said an FIR was registered on Monday against the now-dead SI at North Lakhimpur Police Station under various sections of the IPC such as criminal conspiracy, dacoity, robbery, attempt to cause death, wrongful confinement and extortion.

The FIR was registered based on a complaint by a woman.

He claimed that the police from Lakhimpur and Nagaon districts "took lawful action pursuant to registration of crime".

"In the wake of request of a fair probe from various sections of society into FIR Number 0183/2023 (the North Lakhimpur case) and death of SI Junmoni Rabha, it has been decided to transfer investigation to CID Assam," Singh tweeted.

Rabha, who was the In-Charge of the Morikolong Police Outpost, has been known for being strict against criminals but she has been in the news for her alleged involvement in financial irregularities.

In June last year, she was arrested for alleged corruption in league with her former beau and was remanded to judicial custody by a court in Majuli district, leading to suspension from the service. The suspension was lifted later and she rejoined service.

She was entangled in another controversy in January 2022 when her telephonic conversation with BJP MLA Amiya Kumar Bhuyan from Bihpuria constituency was leaked.

They were engaged in an altercation after Rabha had arrested some boatmen for operating country boats with machines fitted illegally and over alleged harassment of the people of Bhuyan's constituency by her.

As the leaked audio tape had led to a furore, Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma had then said that an elected representative must be given due respect.

Her body was cremated in Guwahati after post-mortem examination in Nagaon Civil Hospital.

PTI with superficial edits