Man shot dead during busy morning hours near a bustling mall in Kolkata
A 40-year-old man was shot dead in Kolkata, just behind a popular shopping mall. A building promoter, the victim was shot at point blank range around 8.45 am. He was rushed to the government-run Seth Sukhlal Karnani Memorial Hospital, popularly known as PG Hospital, but it was too late.
Eyewitnesses say Atikur Rehman and Sheikh Idrees also known as Bhola were having an argument in front of the former's house just off Shamshul Huda Road behind the shopping mall, when Idrees suddenly opened fire. Rehman fell to the ground. Idrees fled the crime scene.
A large crowd gathered outside an office Idrees had in the area and attacked with huge hammers. They smashed the walls down, pulled out papers and set them on fire. As tension spiraled in the neighbourhood, a large police contingent was rushed in to control the situation. A police statement on the incident is awaited. Sources police are on the lookout for Sheikh Idrees who is absconding.
Both Rehman and Idrees lived in the same neighborhood of Karaya in south Kolkata. Rehman's family says they even worked together on property deals but had fallen out over control of a 40 square foot space on the fourth floor of an under-construction building.
Locals claim the police was aware of the dispute between Rehman and Idrees even made them sit across the table and thrash out differences brewing over the last five months. They also claim Idrees is a history sheeter and has several criminal cases against him.