A police constable fired several rounds outside the Bangladesh Deputy High Commission in Kolkata before shooting himself dead on Friday, The Times of India reported. A woman on a two-wheeler died after being hit in the firing.
Kolkata Police Armed Police constable Chodup Lepcha had joined duty on Friday after returning from leave. Around 2.30 pm, he fired at least 15-20 rounds of bullets from his self-loading rifle, an unidentified police officer told PTI.
According to the officer, Lepcha had specifically targeted the woman as her two-wheeler was passing by.
“The man came out of an alley holding the gun and was shouting at the top of his voice,” a witness named Arafat Molla told The Times of India. “He stood in the middle of the road and started firing. We initially thought he was joking with a fake gun but then two bullets hit a car beside us and almost grazed past my brother as we all started running for cover.”
The incident occurred a few hundred metres away from the Seven Point Crossing in Park Circus area, where protestors had gathered to demonstrate against the disparaging remarks made by two Bharatiya Janata Party spokespersons about Prophet Muhammad.
The firing lasted for around five minutes, another witness Bablu Sheikh said. Two by-standers were also injured in the attack. They were admitted to the Chittaranjan National Medical College and Hospital.
The police said that the constable was probably suffering from depression, ANI reported. The police have started an inquiry and will take into account the statements of the witnesses and the CCTV footage of the area.
Kolkata Police Commissioner Vineet Goyel, who visited the site, said Lepcha had joined the service a year ago.
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