Civic volunteer shot in leg during guest house raid in Kolkata

KOLKATA: A 34-year-old civic volunteer was shot at during a raid at a Dakshineswar guest house on Friday afternoon. Police said three miscreants opened fire while a police team from Barrackpore Commissionerate was conducting a raid at the establishment off Dakshineswar-Adyapith Road in search of criminals involved in a robbery at Rahara barely a week ago.
All three accused were arrested and the firearm was seized. Civic volunteer Mohammad Rezaul Sheikh, who was struck by the bullet in his left thigh, was taken to a nursing home in Belgharia and later shifted to a private hospital off Bypass when his condition deteriorated.
According to police sources, on January 7, a gang had looted nearly Rs 35 lakh from a plastic manufacturing unit in Rahara after beating up the employees and security guards, and locking them in a room.
Acting on a tip-off, cops raided the guest house around 4.30pm on Friday. When the officers told the accused to surrender, they opened fire. "Rezaul, who was part of the police team standing nearby, was hit by a bullet in his left leg," an officer said.
According to guest house sources, the three accused were identified as Mohammad Sonu, Parvez Akhtar and Akhtar Ali, all in their 30s and residents of Kamarhati Lootbagan. They had said they were devotees visiting Dakshineswar and Adyapith temples and booked two rooms after submitting "fake ID" documents.
"Two youths had come on Friday morning and booked a room. Later, another youth checked into another room. But during the police raid, all three were found in the same room," said Prabhat Dey, an employee of the guest house.
"The trio was involved in the Rahara robbery and one of them opened fire during the raid, hitting one of our men," said Ajoy Prasad, DCP, South Zone, Barrackpore Commissionerate.