A Kolkata policeman on Friday shot dead a woman before shooting himself dead at city’s busy Park Circus area.
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Police Commissioner Vineet Kumar Goyal said that the policeman has been identified as Chodup Lepcha, who had joined the service only a year ago. The incident occurred near Bangladesh Deputy High Commission in which two persons were injured.
“We are investigating as to what was the reason, whether there were some depressive tendencies. This is also a clear case of trying to commit suicide,” Mr. Goyal said.
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There was panic in the busy Park Circus area at 2:20 p.m. when the constable fired several rounds from his service weapon. People ran to save their lives. Locals said that the police personnel went around shooting for several minutes across a few metres. “After he had shot the woman, he aimed the gun at himself and fired,” a local said, adding that there was huge commotion in the area. Locals said that had it not been Friday when people had gone for afternoon namaz, the casualties could have been higher.
The woman who was riding pillion on a mobile app-driven motorbike died on the spot. The deceased woman was identified as Rima Singha, a physiotherapist from Howrah. The woman was supporting her family through her earnings and was likely to get married in next few months.
The constable had returned from leave recently and videos of him firing indiscriminately with his service weapon also surfaced on social media. Vehicles parked on the road were also hit by the bullets fired by him.
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