A 37-year-old woman was shot at in front of her Haridevpur home early on Monday by a man who came in a vehicle and fled after firing a single bullet.
The woman, a homemaker and mother of one, named one suspect, Bablu Ghosh, 30, in her complaint. Police said that there was more than one person in the car.
The vehicle slowed down in front of a house on Kalipada Mukherjee Road around 6.20am, when the woman had just stepped out of her home. A bullet struck her in the back, and she collapsed on the road as the vehicle sped away.
Neighbours said they heard a gunshot. “I saw her collapse and two men speed away. She was screaming for help,” said one of them.
The woman’s husband and son rushed her to MR Bangur Hospital, from where she was shifted to SSKM Hospital after her condition worsened. She underwent surgery.
Police said Ghosh runs a poultry firm and manages family businesses. “He was last seen close to the spot, loading something in a small truck suspected to have been used to reach the spot,” said Rahul De, deputy commissioner (south west division), Kolkata Police.
Ghosh was arrested during the day. Late on Monday, another man, Bappa Das, who was allegedly present during the firing, was arrested. Police suspect Ghosh had contacted Das for the gun.
Ghosh has been charged under sections of the Arms Act and attempted murder. Investigators are yet to ascertain the motive behind the attack.