The inspector in-charge (IC) of Chanditala police station in Hooghly was shot at in the Byantra area of Howrah on Wednesday midnight and admitted to a private hospital close to the state secretariat, Nabanna. This happened just a day after the officer in-charge (OC) of the district crime record bureau (DCRB) in Birbhum district allegedly tried to strangle the neck of the OC of Lalgola police station in Murshidabad and assaulted a sub-inspector of the PS at Lalgola government hospital on Tuesday night,

Mr Pal’s wife visited him at the hospital but refused to talk to reporters.

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A woman and three other men were seen with the IC when the incident occurred around 11.45 p.m. near Ghoshpara petrol pump along Netaji Subhas Road in Howrah town.

According to police sources in the Howrah Commissionerate, IC Jayanta Pal sustained bullet injury on the upper portion of his left elbow.

Mr Pal’s trouser was wet with blood while the dress of the woman sitting beside him inside a black private car had also marks of blood.

Police have detained the woman, a resident of Sankrail, for interrogation. She might be an employee of the bar, initial inquiry revealed.

Praveen Kumar Tripathi, Howrah police commissioner, told reporters, “Two to three men and one woman were found with the IC during the incident. We have interrogated him at the hospital where he is undergoing treatment and preliminary investigation revealed that he had come to Howrah last night for his personal work. It’s not an incident of an attack by miscreants on him.”

“It’s not yet clear how he got injured on his left elbow. It will be cleared after thorough investigations. He will be interrogated again to get more details,” Mr Tripathi said.

Police are also exploring details in connection with Mr Pal’s relation with the woman. Panic spread in the locality soon after the incident. One empty bullet shell was recovered from the spot.

Police sources said that he fired from his own revolver but it’s not yet confirmed whether it was a service revolver or not.

He along with the woman had come to Howrah for shopping from Chanditala by the private car carrying a ‘police’ sticker around 11.45 p.m.

Another white car, in which the three persons were travelling, followed the IC’s vehicle. Both the two cars stopped at the petrol pump.

Some eyewitnesses said that they rushed to the spot soon after they heard the sound of firing. They found both Mr Pal with his bleeding elbow and the woman coming out of the car. The IC disclosed his identity to the local eyewitnesses and asked them to leave the spot saying, “It’s our personal problems and we will solve it ourselves.”

Senior officials of Byantra and Shibpur PS rushed to the spot and took him to the private hospital.

Police sources said, both of them had a heated exchange of words inside their car before the incident occurred. Earlier in the day, they had shopped for close to Rs 40,000 in Howrah.

Police officials probing the case are also looking into whether Mr Pal had taken prior approval from higher authorities before leaving his workplace.