Constable kills woman, shoots self in Kolkata

Kolkata, June 10

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 persons before shooting himself dead, the 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 spokesperson 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 policeman kept firing from his Self-Loading Rifle (SLR), triggering chaos in the congested area, the police said. She died on the spot, while the policeman after firing a few rounds more shot himself in the head, they added.

Constable Chodhup Lepcha of the Fifth Battalion of Kolkata Armed Police fired 15-20 rounds, a senior police officer said. “He was on duty outside the Bangladesh Deputy High Commission. Suddenly, he started firing indiscriminately,” the officer said. Lepcha was probably in mental depression, he said.