Guwahati: Assam police eliminated dreaded robber Khairul Ali in a late night gun fight in Nagaon district on May 25. For Dr. Ranjit Saikia and the memory of his late wife Ruprekha, it is like justice came in the darkness of the night. Khairul Ali and his gang killed Dr. Saikia’s wife Ruprekha on 24th April night while doing a brutal robbery at their Nagaon residence.
It was well past midnight when police received a tip-off. Khairul Ali alias Moni, a resident of Lakhimpur district and the prime accused in the sensational Nagaon robbery case, was reportedly at it again — allegedly planning yet another heist in Nagaon.
Police from the Rangalu Police Out Post swiftly moved in and intercepted the gang. Police asked them to surrender. The gang’s response was bullets.
In the ensuing exchange of fire, Khairul was hit. He was rushed to Nagaon Medical College Hospital (NMCH), where doctors declared him brought dead.
Five of his accomplices managed to slip away under the cover of darkness. From Khairul’s body, police recovered a 7.65 mm pistol along with empty cartridges — evidence that he had indeed opened fire first.
Nagaon SP Partha Pratim Das said that the gang fired on police first. Two bullets hit the police vehicle and after that the police team cross fire for self protection.
Khairul and his gang stormed the residence of Dr. Ranjit Saikia, a prominent physician in Nagaon on 24th April. What followed was not just a robbery. It was savage, brutal, and unforgivable.
The gang mercilessly beat both Dr. Saikia and his wife Ruprekha Saikia before looting cash and gold ornaments from the house.
Ruprekha’s condition was critical. She was shifted to a hospital in Guwahati for treatment. She fought hard. But a week later, she lost the battle.
The crime had outraged Assam. The pressure on police to act was immense.
On May 16, another member of the gang, Rajibul Islam, was seriously injured while being taken for questioning by Nagaon Police.
Shortly after, a sweeping crackdown netted five more gang members — identified as Nurul, Lamba, Mintu, Nazirul, and Omar — all now behind bars.
But perhaps the most startling arrests were those of two local shopkeepers — Harish Sharma and Santush Shah, both traders from Nagaon.
Police allege they were not innocent bystanders. The two men were picked up for allegedly helping the gang identify targets and providing logistical support — essentially acting as informants from within the community.
With Khairul Ali now dead and nearly the entire gang either arrested or on the run, the Nagaon robbery case is all but cracked.
Dr Ranjit Saikia, thanked the state government and police for the swift action and said that hopefully his wife would get justice.
