The 26-year-old man who allegedly shot a 20-year-old college student and then stabbed her to death on Saturday had assembled the single-shot himself after seeing video clips on an online platform, he has purportedly told the police.
Rakesh Haldar, the accused, had used a “crude” gun made of barrel and a trigger put together to function as a gun, police said.
Haldar, a driver by profession, had procured the barrel and ball bearings from a local hardware shop and arranged explosives from unused crackers he had. According to his statement, he had tested the gun once near his home a few days ago. Haldar is a resident of Panchanantala near the Lake area.
“Rakesh Haldar has claimed that he had made only one gun by seeing how to manufacture a gun on (the online platform). We are trying to locate the shops from where he had bought the spares for making the gun,” said an officer of Regent Park police station.
Haldar was arrested on Saturday afternoon and charged with murder and under the arms act hours after he had allegedly shot Priyanka Purkait, who was sleeping in her home, around 8am on Saturday.
Police investigation has suggested that Haldar was outside her Anandapally home, waiting for her mother to step out before he could enter.
“The victim and the accused were in a relationship. The victim had recently come to know that despite Haldar’s promise to divorce his wife, Haldar’s wife was expecting a child. Hence, the victim wanted to break up with the accused. This had angered him,” said an officer.
The knife that was allegedly used for stabbing Priyanka on her neck was yet to be recovered till Sunday evening, an officer said.
Priyanka, a third-year student of a city college, was taken to a hospital where she was declared dead.