Shootout at Park Circus: Cop kills woman, later shoots himself to death in Kolkata

Kolkata: A policeman fired several rounds killing a woman and later shot himself outside the Bangladesh High Commission in the busy Park Circus area of Kolkata on Friday afternoon.

Reports said, ten to fifteen rounds of bullets from an SLR rifle were erratically shot by the cop near the Bangladesh Deputy High Commission in Park Circus by a cop with his service riffle.

According to police sources, the policeman identified as Tudup Lepcha was a constable of the Kolkata Armed Police (KAP) and posted at Bangladesh High Commission. Lepcha had joined the commission for the first day today.

As per locals, Lepcha came out of the commission and started firing indiscriminately towards the road. The woman, who was riding pillion on a two-wheeler, fell after being hit by a bullet even as the on-duty policeman kept firing from his service rifle, triggering chaos in the congested area of Park Circus.

Later, the police guard shot himself on his neck and died on the spot. The woman too died on the spot. Her husband, as per locals, had also received bullet injuries and is stated to be missing.

As per sources, several other people present at the spot have sustained bullet injuries and were rushed to National Medical College for treatment. However, the exact reason behind the firing is yet to be ascertained. Further details are awaited.

Bablu Sheikh, who claimed to have witnessed the incident said that the entire episode lasted for around five minutes. Later, a huge contingent of police reached the spot after receiving information and sent the bodies to the government hospital. They also rushed the injured people to a nearby hospital, said reports.

Further investigation into the matter is underway, police said