‘Woh andar mei hein! Mere ko dhund raha!’; saying this, a Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) inspector was coming out of the Kidd Street gate of the Indian Museum in a bewildered manner. Gunshots were heard from inside. It was almost 6:30 p.m. on Saturday. The weekend crowd at the museum had not completely emptied. At least 15 rounds of firing occurred near the gate towards Kidd Street, to the left of the main gate. Pedestrians fled thinking it was a terrorist attack. By that time the assistant sub-inspector of CISF Ranjit Kumar Sarangi (58) lost his life in the firing. CISF Assistant Commandant Subir Ghosh (59) was injured. The accused is their colleague, Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) head constable Akshay Kumar Mishra. Akshay was arrested at night.
Details about the accused
43-year-old Akshay’s house is in Odisha. The house of Ranjit Kumar, who was shot dead by him, is also in Odisha. Ranjit was an ex-serviceman. A resident of a nearby village. The family lived in Tollygunge. Kolkata Police Commissioner Vineet Goyal said that the accused jawan surrendered after an hour. Later, the accused was seen leaving the museum with an expressionless face in the Kolkata police car.
Even, Akshay waved at the crowd outside the gate towards Kidd Street (opposite MLA Hostel) on his way out. Injured Subir Ghosh was admitted to SSKM Hospital. The bullet hit his right hand. The trauma care at the PG showed that the bullet had exited the arm. Subir’s condition is stable.
Possible reasons for the attack
Last June, a constable of the armed battalion of the Kolkata Police opened fire on the streets of Park Circus. A woman lost her life. The constable was suffering from mental depression. And in this case, the accused paramilitary jawan was angry about not getting leave. In the initial investigation, the Kolkata Police found that Akshay was also angry because some of his colleagues used to make fun of him. According to police sources, Akshay probably did not get the leave even though he asked for it after his father’s death a few days ago. Investigation is ongoing. At night, Akshay was taken to the New Market police station for questioning. Medical examination was also done.
The Park Circus incident raised questions about keeping automatic weapons in the hands of the police. And paramilitary forces have AK-47s in high-security facilities like the Indian Museum. Kolkata Police investigation revealed that accused Akshay snatched the AK 47 from SK Murthy, the guard of the museum. Then he ran towards the garden in that square to shoot.
ASI Ranjit Kumar Sarangi was coming in a car just then. Apart from that ASI, Subir Ghosh, an inspector of CISF was initially believed to be the target of the accused jawan. Akshay chased the inspector and ran towards the garden. However, the inspector managed to escape and came out of the Kidd Street gate in the opposite direction. The CISF driver also hid in the garden. Later, it was seen that the car was full of bullets.