Jorhat, Nov 27 (PTI) A suspected dacoit was shot at by police in Assam's Jorhat district when he allegedly tried to escape from custody, an officer said on Sunday.

He is currently undergoing treatment at the Jorhat Medical College and Hospital (JMCH) and is in stable condition, the officer added.

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The accused was apprehended by employees of a shop and locals in Nirmal Chariali area of Jorhat on Saturday night when he was allegedly trying to rob the shop at gunpoint, along with an accomplice, the officer said.

"He shot at one of the shop employees when they refused to pay up. The injured employee along with a co-worker managed to push the dacoit down, and with help of another local person apprehended him.

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"The second dacoit managed to escape during the incident," the officer said.

A police team later reached the spot and took the dacoit into custody. A pistol was also seized from the spot, the officer said.

The accused claimed before police that his accomplice is from Amguri area and as he was being taken to the location immediately, he tried to escape.

"He took the police party through a tea garden area, maintaining it was a shorter route. Suddenly, he tried to snatch the rifle of the policemen who was holding him by the hand and ran. Our team had to engage in controlled firing and he was shot in his right leg," the officer said.

Police claimed that the arrested accused is a habitual offender and was arrested in neighbouring Sivasagar district in a bike lifting case.

"We have started investigation to apprehend his accomplice," the officer added.

At least 56 people have been killed and 143 injured in police action while the accused allegedly tried to flee from custody or attacked police personnel since the BJP government, led by Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma, assumed office in May 2021.

The high number of shoot-outs whipped up a political furore with the opposition alleging that the Assam Police has turned "trigger happy" and is indulging in "open killings" under the new regime.

The Assam government on June 20 filed an affidavit before the Gauhati High Court and claimed that "no extra judicial killing" has taken place in the state.

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)