TMC leader escapes murder bid in Kasba: Third attempt on councillor’s life by hired gang from neighbouring Bihar
The shooter was identified as Yuvraj Singh, who told the police that he and three other members of Pappu Chowdhury gang had come to Kolkata from Vaishali in Bihar to kill Ghosh.
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Gulzar, the main accused who hired the contract killers. (File)The Friday’s attempt on TMC councillor Sushant Ghosh’s life in Kasba, Kolkata, was not the first. It was the third murder attempt on him in the last five months, according to Kolkata Police. Also, all the three attempts on the TMC leaders’ life — first in July and then in October this year — were made by members of a Bihar-based criminal, Pappu Chowdhury, who was hired by the main accused, Md Afroz alias Gulzar. Gulzar and Ghosh are said to be involved in a land dispute.
So far, Kolkata Police has arrested three persons — Md Afroz alias Gulzar, who had allegedly hired the Bihar-based criminals to kill Ghosh; Yuvraj Kumar Singh, a member of the Pappu Chowdhury gang, whose gun malfunctioned at the last minute, and proving live-saver for Ghosh; and taxi driver Ahmed Khan. While Gulzar and Ahmed Khan are local residents, Yuvraj is from Bihar.
“During interrogation, Gulzar initially claimed that he had hired the killers for Rs 10 lakh. Later, he changed his statement and said that killers were given Rs 50 lakh. The scooter, which was used by shooter Yuvraj, was bought by Gulzar just a week before the murder attempt and its number plate was changed,” said a police officer, adding the scooter was recovered on Tuesday.
The link of the Bihar-based criminal gang in the case came to light after Yuvraj got arrested, the officer said.
Ghosh narrowly escaped the assassination attempt in front of his residence in Kasba area of Kolkata on Friday evening after the shooter’s gun malfunctioned. The shooter was chased by Ghosh and residents of the area and was handed over to the police.
The shooter was identified as Yuvraj Singh, who told the police that he and three other members of Pappu Chowdhury gang had come to Kolkata from Vaishali in Bihar to kill Ghosh. While Yuvraj has been arrested, the three others, including Sushil and Chandu, are yet to be traced.
A team of Kolkata Police also visited Bihar to trace the other accused.
“There in Bihar, we found that shooter Yuvraj was a new recruit of the gang. We also came to know that there are over 40 cases against the remaining three people in different police stations in Bihar. We learnt that the four members of the gang after reaching Kolkata changed their SIM cards, which Gulzar gave to them,” said a police officer.
According to police sources, another name has also cropped up in the investigation.
“Zulkar is involved in Friday’s incident at Kasba. There are more than 150 cases against him,” said a source.
According to the investigators, a property dispute between Gulzar and the TMC councillor was the reason behind the crime.
“However, we are trying to find out the exact reason that led Gulzar to hire killers from Bihar to eliminate Ghosh,” said a senior police officer.
The involvement of Bihar-based criminals have raised serious concerns with the police coming under the criticism from ruling TMC leaders.
Senior TMC leader Sougata Roy expressed his frustration, saying, “People pay salaries to the police. They did a commendable job during Durga Puja, but how can 9mm pistols from Bihar enter Bengal? What are these police doing? Can’t they stop it?”
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