Mohammad Sarfaraz, a 19-year-old Class XII student who had come to Kolkata from Gaya earlier this week to meet a cousin, was one of the two who were injured by bullets allegedly fired by Kolkata police constable Chodup Lepcha on Friday.
Luckily, he suffered a minor injury and was discharged from SSKM Hospital after treatment in the evening.
The Telegraph spoke to Sarfaraz, who is now staying at a relative’s house on Ripon Street. He narrated the moments of horror after the policeman pointed the gun at him.
I was sitting on a plastic chair in front of a garage when I saw a policeman in khaki uniform come in my direction. He seemed to be walking aimlessly and had a rifle in his hand.
He came close to me and then pointed the gun at me from a distance of a few meters. It seemed he was aiming at my face.
Initially I thought Sir (Lepcha) was joking. Then suddenly he pressed the trigger. There was the sound of firing and something very sharp hit my left arm. My first reaction was to run.
I ran and took shelter inside the garage. I was bleeding from the arm. I could hear gunshots outside. I have never seen anything like this before except in movies.
I did not have the courage to step out and see what was going on.
I do not remember what happened after that. I think I passed out.
When I came to, I was told that I was at SSKM Hospital. Doctors were attending to my left arm, which was still paining a lot.
Later, I learned that the cop had injured another man and shot dead a woman before killing himself.
I thanked my stars that I escaped their fate. It (the injury) is painful, but I am doing fine.
I cannot imagine what could have happened had the bullet hit me somewhere else.