Councillor murder bid: Cops search for second weapon

Kolkata Municipal Corporation (file photo)


Following the alleged attempt on the life of Trinamul Congress councillor of the Kolkata Municipal Corporation (KMC), Sushanta Ghosh, a resident of Kasba, police continued their investigations, with divers being deployed in a canal to search for a second weapon. The search has been ongoing since morning and continued for 40 minutes, as investigators believe that another firearm might have been brought along to either kill or intimidate Mr Ghosh.

They suspect that the weapon could have been discarded in the canal. Mr Ghosh is the councillor of Ward No. 108 of the KMC. The alleged murder attempt took place on Friday but failed. One revelation after another is emerging in the shooting incident. A land dispute theory has also come to light. It is alleged that hired contract killers attempted to shoot and kill Mr Ghosh. Police on Sunday deployed divers to search the Shantipally canal, located just 80 metres away from Sushanta Ghosh’s house in Chakraborty Para, Rajdanga. On Friday, two miscreants arrived on a scooter in front of Mr Ghosh’s house. One of them, seated at the back, dismounted and aimed a pistol at the councillor. The assailant tried to fire twice, but the weapon malfunctioned. When the miscreant attempted to escape, Mr Ghosh and his associates caught him and handed him over to police.

However, the scooter driver managed to escape and remains at large. Investigators suspect that the driver was also armed and might have discarded his pistol while fleeing near the canal. This has led the police to search the canal for the missing weapon, though it has yet to be found. Following this, police personnel began searching the adjacent jungle for the weapon. After combing through the jungle, the search extended to an abandoned construction site near the canal. So far, police have arrested three individuals in connection with the attempted murder. On the day of the incident, they apprehended the alleged shooter, Yuvraj Singh. The next morning, they arrested a taxi driver, Ahmed Khan, accused of transporting the shooters to various locations from Howrah Station. On Saturday, police arrested Afroz Khan, alias Gulzar, one of the main conspirators, from Galsi in East Burdwan. He was reportedly trying to flee to Bihar.