Kolkata cop on duty at Writers’ found dead with gunshot wound

KOLKATA/MIDNAPORE: A 36-year-old Kolkata Police constable was found dead with a gunshot injury at Writers’ Buildings on Friday. The bullet that struck the cop, Biswajit Karak, had reportedly been fired from his own service rifle. The incident took place between 3.35pm and 3.45pm when he was on duty at Gate No. 6 of Writers’, which still houses some important state government departments.
Joint CP (headquarters) Subhankar Sinha Roy said Karak, working with the 5th battalion of Kolkata Police for the past 10 years, had come in the second shift and took up sentry duty at 2.30pm. He had been sitting on a chair near the gate overlooking the window when the incident took place. Prima facie, cops at Lalbazar suspected that it was a case of suicide. “The chances that the bullet had been fired accidentally seems slim,” said an officer from the homicide section, who visited the spot. Cops cordoned off the high-security area after the incident. Karak was rushed to SSKM hospital where doctors declared him dead. Police said he used to live at Lake Town with his wife, a nurse with a government hospital, and his four-year-old son.
“We have not found any suicide note so far. We found some medicines that suggest that he had been suffering from mental illness,” said DC (Central) Sudheer Kumar Neelakantam. Sources said he had consulted a few doctors at RG Kar and SSKM hospitals for that. The constable was originally from Shibra village in Daspur-2, West Midnapore. His sister said she had spoken to him around 10am on Friday and found nothing abnormal. Karak’s mother was presently staying at his Lake Town flat. Cops said the constable had been under medication. Looking into the suicide angle, cops are probing whether he had any workplace-related anxiety.