A group of armed men, carrying revolvers, sharp blades and iron rods, allegedly stormed a crowded market in Gulshan Colony, Anandapur, on the city’s south-eastern fringes on Thursday evening, firing in the air and brandishing
weapons.
The same group reportedly returned in the early hours of Friday to hurl bombs, police said.
The gang’s brazen display of firepower left residents of the neighbourhood — located near the East Calcutta Wetlands off EM Bypass — shaken. One person was injured during the attack, allegedly when the men assaulted residents of the area.
A biryani shop in the market was ransacked. Its owner, Miraz Khan, said the attack was part of a turf war.
“The men who attacked my shop belong to Mini Firoz’s gang. This is a fight for control. We have resisted their criminal activities since 2022, when Sushanta Ghosh was elected councillor,” said the owner of Biryani House. “They want to establish their supremacy. My wife died 20 days ago. I had a close shave today.”
The police arrested three men in connection with the violence. However, the incident has raised fresh questions about law enforcement in the area.
Sushanta Ghosh, Trinamool councillor of Kolkata Municipal Corporation’s Ward 108, claimed he had warned the police earlier about infiltration of illegal arms and outsiders into the neighbourhood.
“This could have been averted. How can men hurl bombs with police present nearby?” he said. Ghosh had survived a murder attempt in November 2024.
On Thursday evening, eyewitnesses said, a group of men arrived at the market on bicycles and two-wheelers. They ransacked the biryani shop and damaged a parked two-wheeler.
CCTV footage collected by police shows several men in jeans and caps wielding blades in front of the shop. In one frame, a man in a red cap and white T-shirt is seen running down the street and firing into the air. Locals also claimed the attackers were part of a gang led by local tough Mini Firoz.
As the attackers fled on the two-wheelers they arrived on, police arrived at the scene. Some shopkeepers downed shutters and fled. A picket was set up soon after.
But in the early hours of Friday, the gang reportedly returned and hurled bombs. With the street deserted, there were no injuries reported.
“Based on specific inputs, Ahmed Hussain, 43, of Gulshan Colony, and Raja Khan of Topsia Road were arrested from Entally. A third person, Mohammad Sajid, 29, also from Gulshan Colony, was picked up from Narkeldanga,” said a senior officer of Kolkata Police. “We recovered a 7-mm pistol and two live cartridges from Sajid.”
Police sources said Thursday’s incident is the latest in a series of violent turf battles in the area, often linked to land grabbing. The neighbourhood has seen several such flare-ups in recent years.
Ghosh’s earlier brush with violence may also be connected. According to the police, Gulzar Khan, who allegedly plotted the failed attempt on the councillor’s life, had told officers he wanted revenge. He accused Ghosh of grabbing a 2,000-sqft godown he owned in Gulshan Colony.