An armed gang entered a bar in Howrah's Domjur and shot at an employee who resisted the intruders when they started picking up liquor bottles after forcibly seizing cash on Thursday night, police said.
No one was arrested till late on Friday, police said.
The four youths entered the bar around 9pm, when employees at the cash counter were calculating the earnings of the day. The gang fired two bullets, leaving one of the employees injured, before fleeing in a car.
The police said the injured employee, identified as Avijit, was rushed to SSKM Hospital.
“The staff had stopped serving liquor and food for the day and there were no customers inside when the gang stormed the bar,” said an officer.
Officers investigating the firing said one of the four youths was carrying a backpack. Another youth was wearing a mask, the police have learnt after scanning CCTV footage.
“The youths appeared to be in their early 30s and we suspect they are from an area near Domjur. It seems they wanted to loot cash and take away some liquor bottles as well,” said an officer of Domjur police station.
Located on National Highway 6 in Domjur's Alampur, the restaurant-cum bar is a popular hangout spot that attracts decent footfall throughout the week, residents of the area said.
The police have learnt that after entering the bar, the gang waited for a few minutes before asking an employee to switch off the lights.
The four then walked up to the area where the cash box was kept. “One of the employees was busy counting the day’s earnings when the lights were switched off,” an eyewitness told the police.
“We have learnt that two members of the group snatched the cash box while two others stood guard,” the officer said. “Just before they were about to leave, one of them tried to pick up a few bottles of liquor when one of the employees tried to stop him.”
Of the two bullets that were fired, one hit the door of a refrigerator and the other pierced the employee’s shoulder.
