The rift between two building material suppliers in Bansdroni, which led to a shootout on Tuesday, has its roots in a rivalry over who would develop a piece of land in Brahmapur on the southern fringes of Kolkata, police said.
Officers investigating Tuesday morning's shootout in an office on the ground floor of an apartment block in Brahmapur said Biswanath Singh had shot at Malay Dutta after the latter failed to convince his former friend why he had pushed him out of a project that both had agreed to execute.
Biswanath allegedly fired two bullets, one of which hit Malay. The other missed the target. As Malay fell, one of his associates allegedly fired at Biswanath, leaving him injured.
“A business deal between Malay and Biswanath had gone sour, following which Malay decided he would himself develop a plot of land in Brahmapur that both had invested in,” said a senior officer at Bansdroni police station.
“One of the two firearms used has been seized.We are looking for the other.”
Officers from the detective department at Lalbazar said Biswanath supplied building materials to construction sites with Malay before carving out his own business in parts of Brahmapur, Masjid Para, Sonarpur and Narendrapur.
“On Tuesday, Biswanath had left his Garia home with a firearm. It appears he had decided to murder Malay for allegedly removing him from the partnership business,” an officer said. “Even Malay's men were armed. It’s not clear from where the 7mm country-made pistol that we have seized had been sourced.”
The shootout at Bansdroni on Tuesday morning has brought the focus back on the abundant supply of illegal firearms in the city.
Investigators scanning CCTV footage said an injured Biswanath had gone back home driving his two-wheeler and then left to meet a political leader in Narendrapur riding pillion on a motorcycle.
The leader was not at home. His family members have told the police he is out of town.
Forensic reports and gun power analysis have revealed that Arijit Poddar, one of the three arrested so far, had fired on Biswanath, an officer said.
The bullet was fired from a country-made pistol.
“We used to read about such shootouts in newspapers. The truth that something similar has actually happened in our locality has left us scared,” said a resident of Brahmapur.