Two men who are into the business of supplying construction materials on the southern fringes of Kolkata were shot at early on Friday morning over an alleged business rivalry.
The incident happened at Purba Putiary under the jurisdiction of Regent Park police station near Tollygunge.
Pankaj Saha, 39 and Abhijit Mullick, 33, were supervising the work of unloading sand from a truck at Tentultala in Purba Putiary around 4.30am on Friday when two men opened fire at them.
One bullet hit Saha in his abdomen while the other pierced Mullick’s lower abdomen
Two persons have been identified as the possible accused and one of them has been arrested. The other accused, who received injuries on his head during a scuffle, is in hospital and will be arrested on charges of attempt to murder once he is released, police said.
“Pankaj Saha, who could apparently identify his perpetrator as one of his former business partners, managed to get up on his feet and pick up a brick. He then attacked his former business partner — Victor Bhattacharya — with it. Bhattacharya received injuries on his head before he could flee the spot,” said an officer of Regent Park police station.
The cops said he was later arrested from his home, where he went back so as not to raise any suspicions. His associate Malay Bhuniya who had also allegedly opened fire, was arrested too. The police said they had seized two 7mm guns that were allegedly used in the incident.
People in the neighbourhood said both Bhattacharya and Saha had started their career in supplying construction materials a few years ago, together.
It was only recently that they fell apart and started competing with each other.
“The two opposing factions picked up a fight early this morning over a small issue of the place where they would unload sand along the road. Victor Bhattacharya and his associates were opposed to the place where Pankaj Saha was unloading and stocking the sand,” said an officer in Lalbazar.
The area around Purba Putiary is dotted with under-construction multi-storey buildings and standalone homes where rivalries between groups over supply of construction materials are common.
However, use of arms and attempting to kill each other over issues of dumping construction material is something that the neighbourhood had never witnessed before, the residents said.
A few months ago, a group of bike-borne men had attacked the house of a promoter and shot at one person through a collapsible gate in the promoter’s house at Bansdroni.
Friday’s incident confirmed the easy availability of arms and their illegal access in pockets of the city.