Two men were arrested on Friday in connection with the robbery attempt at a jewellery store in Barrackpore on Wednesday evening that left the son of the shop’s owner dead and the owner and an employee injured.
Safiq Khan was arrested in Rahara, a locality not far from the jewellery store, and Jamshed Ansari was picked up from Muraroi in Birbhum, police said.
Footage of CCTV cameras in Singha Jewellery House, located in Barrackpore’s Anandapuri, show four men entering the store on Wednesday evening.
Nilratan Singha, the owner, his son Niladri and two employees were in the store. The police came to know that the gang asked the Singhas and the staff to hand over ornaments.
When they refused, one of the gang members opened fire, injuring the Singhas and an employee. The three were rushed to hospital, where Niladri was declared dead on arrival.
Police sources said a black bag that one of the gang members had accidentally left in the store led them to the two accused.
“A registration paper of a bike was found in the bag. We tracked down the person whose name was recorded in the transport department’s documents as the owner. A team met the person but learnt that the bike had been sold a few months back,” said an officer of the Barrackpore commissionerate.
“In fact, the bike had been sold thrice since that sale. None of the persons who bought the bike had got the vehicle registered in their names.”
After quizzing the three previous owners, the cops came across the name of Safiq Khan, who lives in Kamarhati.
“He was the fourth and the last buyer. We got his phone number from the person who sold the bike to him,” the officer said.
His phone was switched off but his last phone location was in Dangapara in Rahara. Around Thursday midnight, the police came to know that he was staying in a rented apartment at Patulia in Rahara.
He was picked up around 1.30am on Friday. The motorcycle has been seized.
Deputy commissioner, central, Barrackpore commissionerate, Asish Maurya, said the motorcycle was the one that the gang used in the operation on Wednesday.
Based on Khan’s statements, Jamshed Ansari was picked up from Birbhum.