An employee of the state fire department was shot dead in front of his house in Lake Town on Thursday afternoon, a year after a failed attempt on his life, while he was parking his motorbike after having brought his daughter back from school, police said.
The 12-year-old was the first to raise the alarm around 4.15pm when she saw her father collapse near his motorcycle.
Snehasish Roy, 39, who was a peon in the fire department, had taken two bullets in his chest, the police said after a preliminary examination of the wounds. “We will get more details after the post-mortem is conducted,” said an officer of Bidhannagar City Police.
Roy had been posted at the New Town fire station for the past year, since an attempt to shoot him outside his earlier workplace in Dum Dum. He was shifted to New Town to ensure his “safety”, said an officer at Dum Dum fire station who had worked with Roy.
“We had lodged a complaint with the police at that time. He was on duty that day (in June 2022). Someone called him outside the office, taken him a few steps away and tried to shoot him. The bullet luckily missed him. He had said that someone had picked a fight with him regarding overtaking on the road and tried to settle scores. After that he was shifted to the New Town fire station for his safety,” said the officer.
A senior police officer said a complaint had been lodged and a general diary entry recorded in June last year. No one was arrested in that case.
State fire minister and local MLA Sujit Bose visited Roy’s family on Thursday night and said Roy was a dedicated member of the Trinamul Congress.
“He used to regularly take part in our rallies and would also mobilise people from this area,” Bose said.
Bose said he would bear the cost of the education of Roy’s daughter and try to get a job for a family member. Roy was the sole earning member of his family.
He is survived by his mother, wife and daughter.
“I was lying on the bed when my granddaughter returned home. Moments later I heard something like a shell bursting. Immediately my granddaughter screamed for help and called me and her mother saying her father had collapsed,” Roy’s mother said on Thursday.
The elderly woman, in her 70s, rushed out and saw her son lying on the floor with blood oozing out.
The family alerted neighbours, who took Roy to the RG Kar Medical College and Hospital, where he was declared dead.
The police said they were trying to locate the killer through CCTV footage and from possible witnesses. Minister Bose said the police had got a “solid lead” that would help them get hold of the accused soon.
An officer at New Town fire station recalled Roy as a “dedicated” worker and an avid football lover.
“He would play football early in the morning. At times he would go to his office straight from the practice, wearing shorts. He even played for clubs,” said the officer.
Roy did not report for duty on Thursday. He did not apply for leave either, an officer said.
The police said they were scanning his mobile phone call records.