Ratan Sheikh, the prime suspect in the shooting of a police constable in Birbhum district, was killed in a police encounter on Sunday, 15 November 2026, marking the fifth fatal encounter in West Bengal since July. Sheikh, a repeat offender with 35 criminal cases pending against him, was cornered at a brick kiln in Charkol village under the Nanoor police station limits after a tip-off to local police.

How the Encounter Unfolded

According to district police officials, a team was dispatched to the brick kiln after receiving intelligence that Sheikh had taken refuge there following a failed arrest bid two days earlier. “As the police team reached the spot, the accused fired, targeting the cops. The cops had to retaliate in self-defence, and Ratan was injured in that retaliatory police firing. He was rushed to a local hospital, where the doctors declared him dead,” a police official stated.

The sequence of events began on the evening of 13 November, when officers attempted to apprehend Sheikh in the Like Bazar area of Bolpur-Shantiniketan. He opened fire and fled, critically wounding police constable Biswajit Das. Constable Das is currently undergoing treatment at a hospital in Kolkata, which was visited by Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari to assess his condition.

Who Was Ratan Sheikh

Sheikh, a resident of Santa village in Nanoor, had a lengthy criminal record spanning illegal possession of firearms and drug trafficking. Police records show 35 cases pending against him at the time of his death. Despite a prior arrest, he had secured bail before the 13 November raid — a detail that is likely to draw scrutiny given his alleged profile.

Pattern of Encounters in West Bengal

Sunday’s incident is the fifth fatal police encounter in the state since July, underscoring an escalating pattern that has drawn both public attention and questions about due process:

July: Prabhas Mondal, accused of raping and murdering a six-year-old girl in Baruipur, South 24 Parganas, was killed after allegedly snatching an officer’s weapon during a crime scene reconstruction.

October: Prahlad Das, accused of the rape and murder of a 17-year-old girl in Gaighata, South 24 Parganas, died in retaliatory police firing during an attempted escape.

October: Samiul Sheikh, arrested for the murder of a Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) worker in Samserganj, Murshidabad district, was killed in a separate encounter the same day.

8–9 November: Dilip Roy, the prime accused in the alleged rape and murder of a minor girl in Raiganj, North Dinajpur, was shot dead after he reportedly opened fire on officers attempting to detain him.

What Happens Next

Each of these encounters will be subject to mandatory magisterial inquiry under established protocol, though the pace and independence of such probes will remain under scrutiny. The frequency of fatal encounters in West Bengal since July raises broader questions about custodial safety standards and whether adequate non-lethal alternatives are being deployed. Critics and civil liberties groups are likely to call for greater transparency in how these incidents are investigated.