Constable shoots self after killing woman in city’s busy area

PTI, KOLKATA, JUNE 10, 2022:   A policeman allegedly fired several rounds near the Bangladesh Deputy High Commission in central Kolkata's busy Park Circus area on Friday afternoon, killing a woman and injuring two people before shooting himself dead, police said. The incident happened around 2.30 pm a few hundred metres away from the Seven-Point Crossing where thousands of people had gathered to protest against the inflammatory remarks made by suspended BJP spokes person Nupur Sharma. 

The woman, identified as Rima Singha of Dasnagar in Howrah, was passing by, riding pillion on a bike taxi when she was hit by a bullet as the on-duty police man kept firing from his Self-Loading Rifle (SLR), triggering chaos in the congested area, police said. Singha died on the spot, while the policeman after firing a few rounds more shot himself in the head, they added. 

The gunman, constable Chodhup Lepcha of the Fifth Battalion of Kolkata Armed Police, fired at least15-20 rounds, a senior police officer said. "He was on duty outside the Bangladesh Deputy High Commission. Suddenly, he started firing in discriminately and walked along Lower Range to AJC Bose Road-Beck bagan crossing," the officer said. Lepcha specifically targetted the woman as the two-wheeler was passing by, he said. Two by-standers were also injured in the firing. 

They were admitted to the Chittaranjan National Medical College and Hospital, he said. The incident had no connection with the protest at Seven-Point Crossing, the officer said, replying to a question.

"The whole episode lasted for around five minutes," said a visibly shaken Bablu Sheikh, who claimed to have witnessed the incident. Taking into account the statements of the eyewitnesses and the CCTV footage of the area, police are trying to stitch together and reconstruct the sequence of events, the officer said.

Lepcha was probably in mental depression, he said. Kolkata Police Commissioner Vineet Goyel, who visited the spot, said Lepcha had joined the service a year ago. According to sources Lepcha was on leave and resumed duty recently. His indiscriminate firing left several vehicles parked on either sides of the road damaged. Meanwhile, speaking to news persons, victim Singha’s mother said she was the only earning member of the family. She said Singha went out of their home for office at around 12 pm. The tragic news reached her through one of their neighbours at 4 pm.