Kolkata, Feb 25 Two persons, including a father and his son, have been arrested in connection with the recent shootout in Kolkata’s Tiljala area, police said on Wednesday.
The accused -- Mohammad Salman and his father Mohammad Anwar -- were arrested in the early hours of Wednesday while allegedly attempting to flee the city. Police seized a firearm, a magazine and two live cartridges from their possession.
According to police, the duo had gone underground following the incident. Acting on a tip-off received late Tuesday night that they were planning to escape under the cover of darkness, a police team conducted a raid near Tiljala Railway Gate No 2. At around 3 a.m., officers swooped down on a rickshaw stand in the area and apprehended the two accused.
The arrested persons will be produced before a court later in the day, where police are likely to seek their custody for further investigation.
The shootout took place late on Monday night on Tiljala Road under the Beniapukur police station area. Salman is accused of calling a local youth, Mohammad Niaz alias Raja, out of his house and opening fire on him following a neighbourhood dispute reportedly linked to the alleged theft of cold drink bottles.
Niaz, a garage worker, sustained two bullet injuries to his leg and was rushed to SSKM Hospital, where he underwent surgery. His condition is reported to be stable.
Police said the dispute began on Monday afternoon when an elderly shopkeeper noticed that two bottles of cold drinks were missing from the refrigerator kept outside his shop. He accused a local youth of theft, but the youth’s mother denied the allegation and protested.
The shopkeeper reportedly called a young man named Suraj from a neighbouring locality to mediate. Niaz objected to the involvement of someone from another area in the matter, leading to tensions.
The argument resurfaced in the evening. Salman's father allegedly supported the decision to call Suraj for arbitration, triggering a heated exchange with Niaz. Salman is said to have threatened Niaz during the altercation.
According to Niaz’s family, Salman later called him out of his house around 1 a.m. under the pretext of holding talks. Moments after he stepped outside, gunshots were heard.
Police are continuing their investigation into the incident.
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