Kolkata: In a spine-chilling incident, a police constable on duty fired several rounds indiscriminately from his service revolver and killed a woman before shooting himself dead.
The incident happened around 2.30 pm, just 50 metres from the Bangladesh Deputy High Commissioner’s office at Park Circus, a busy area in central Kolkata.
According to police, the woman was passing by that area, riding pillion on a two-wheeler. Out of the blue, a bullet hit her and she fell down even as the policeman kept firing in all directions, triggering chaos and panic in the congested area.
According to eyewitnesses, two bullets hit a car, another struck a tree trunk while a third grazed past a bystander before piercing the pillion ride.
The woman, identified as Rima Sinha, died on the spot. Her companion and another person were also hit by bullets and have been admitted to a nearby hospital.
The young constable named Chodup Lepcha, who joined Kolkata Police a year ago, shot himself in the head, police informed.
City Police Commissioner Vineet Goyal said the constable had just rejoined work after taking leave and may have been suffering from depression.
“The depression angle is being investigated… and whether he wanted to commit suicide,” Goyal told newspersons.
Visibly-shaken eyewitnesses said the entire episode lasted around four to five minutes.
