A bullet at the scene of the encounter. Picture by Bhola Prasad

Jamshedpur, Nov. 10: A suspected aide of gangster Akhilesh Singh was killed in an “encounter” in the Sidhgora area of the city early this morning.

The death of Karan Singh alias Rajje has triggered a controversy, with his family members claiming that the 22-year-old was only injured in a scuffle with a security guard but killed on his way to hospital.

Around 5.30am, Rajje, who is said to be on the police’s wanted list for several petty crimes, went to visit his mother at their Kalu Bagan residence. He was leaving the area as stealthily as he had come when Patiram Singh, a home guard, and Bhola Prasad, a Sidhgora police driver, gave him a chase.

According to the police, Rajje was cornered when he entered a house in the Bahadur Singh Bagan locality. He first scuffled with Singh and Prasad, and later fired a shot from his country-made pistol to escape. The bullet hit Singh on his right shoulder. He and Prasad, however, managed to snatch Rajje’s gun and return fire. The youth was hit in the chest and the jaw.

Prasad informed sub-inspector Parvez Alam of Sidhgora police station. A police jeep took Rajje to MGM Medical College and Hospital, where he was declared brought dead. Singh was admitted with a bullet injury.

Rajje’s mother Amerjit Kaur has, however, refused to buy the police version. Kaur admitted that her son had criminal links, but claimed he was killed in a fake encounter. She said Rajje had received only one bullet in the chest and would have survived, but the police killed him on the way to hospital. “He was alright. He even spoke to a relative while being taken to hospital. The police shot him in the jaw later,” Kaur told The Telegraph.

East Singhbhum superintendent of police Naveen Kumar Singh denied the allegation. He said Rajje was killed after he fired on the home guard. Two firearms were found in his possession.

The SP said the youth, a dropout of Jamshedpur Public School, had tried to force his entry into the JRD Tata Sports Complex at gunpoint last Friday. He was wanted in several criminal cases, he added.