Junmoni Rabha, Assam's controversial female cop dies in car crash

Junmoni Rabha, the woman sub-inspector of Assam Police who was embroiled in several controversies, was killed when her car collided head-on with a container truck in Nagaon district on early Tuesday, officials said. 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 foul play, 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 foul play and demanded an impartial probe to find out the truth behind her death.Speaking to the media here, the deceased'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. 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 Rs 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 the rituals of the deceased. 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. 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.