CISF head constable Akshay Kumar Mishra, who gunned down a colleague and injured another in the Indian Museum compound on Saturday evening, is now repentant about his act and is worried about his family, police officers who have questioned him said.
Mishra has purportedly told investigators that he has made a “big mistake”.
Mishra, 43, who is from Machhia village in Odisha’s Dhenkanal district, is the sole bread earner for his family comprising his mother, wife and two children, he is said to have told the police. His father, who was a teacher, died in April.
Police said Mishra had snatched an AK-47 from a colleague and fired 15 bullets outside the CISF barracks on the Indian Museum campus, killing assistant sub-inspector Ranjit Kumar Sarangi and injuring assistant commandant Subir Ghosh.
“He is now worried about his family and is repeatedly saying: ‘Bahut badi galti ho gai. Ab mere parivar ka kya hoga? (I have committed a big mistake. Now what will happen to my family?),” said an officer in the detective department at Lalbazar
Mishra’s daughter studies in Class X, while his son is a Class VIII student, the police said. His wife and mother are homemakers.
“The family is completely dependent on Mishra’s salary. They do not have any land or any other property in their village,” an officer said.
“He is extremely worried about his family, now that he is likely to be dismissed from service. He is aware that he would not get any of the benefits that a retired member of the central force gets because he has committed a heinous offence,” the officer said.
Mishra has been charged with murder, attempt to murder and theft. If convicted, the maximum punishment could be death. “According to the protocol, he will be terminated from the uniformed service soon,” a CISF officer said.
Mishra has been remanded in police custody till August 21.
Kolkata police officers said Mishra, who has passed Class X, had joined the central force 22 years ago.
“His superiors said he had been very dutiful and sincere in his work. We got a glimpse of his disciplined side on the very day of the incident. That day, when we entered the armoury and convinced him to disarm himself, his first reaction after surrendering the AK-47 was to stand in a chest-up position to show respect to us,” said an officer, who was part of the rescue operation at the Indian Museum on Saturday evening.
In a disciplined force, a uniformed officer is expected to salute his superiors, irrespective of the place or time of the meeting. If the junior officer is in civvies, he or she is expected to show respect through the “chest-up” posture.
Two officers who have questioned Mishra in police custody told The Telegraph that he was “cooperating” with the investigation and was “showing proper respect” to senior officers at Lalbazar.
The police said Mishra had told them that he was part of the security detail of a senior politician in Uttar Pradesh in 2011, a claim that Kolkata police are yet to verify.
Mishra was in charge of the CISF armoury at the Indian Museum unit he opened fire on Saturday evening.