Drug peddler injured in another encounter in Assam

A drug peddler and two policemen were injured in a gunfight in Assam's Karimganj district on Saturday, police said.

Acting on a tip-off, the police tried to nab the peddler red-handed at Patharkandi near the Bangladesh border, but he tried to allegedly escape after snatching the service pistol of a policeman, Superintendent of Police Padmanav Barua said.

The police opened fire and injured him, while two police personnel were also wounded in the exchange of fire, he said.

The drug dealer was admitted to the Silchar Medical College and Hospital.

The two injured police personnel were also undergoing treatment at the same hospital.

At least 15 suspected militants and criminals have been shot dead by police in encounters since May, while 26 others have been injured so far, officials said.

The rising number of encounters has become a major issue with the opposition alleging that the state police has turned "trigger happy".

Unfazed by the criticism, Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said the state police has "full operational liberty" to take on criminals within the ambit of the law.