A businessman in his early 40s was shot at inside his office on Keshab Chandra Sen Street adjoining Amherst Street in north Kolkata on Wednesday afternoon.
The gunshots spread panic among residents in the neighbourhood even as a few of them watched the accused walk away.
Dipak Das was in his office on the ground floor of a multi-storied building — Keshab Residency — when two youths reportedly walked in around 4.30pm and fired at him, police said. Dipak slumped on his chair as the two accused walked out of the office room, adjoining the grocery counter.
Preliminary investigations revealed a relative, Rakesh Das, had fired upon Dipak.
“We have learnt that Rakesh Das turned up at the shop with another youth in the afternoon. After a heated altercation Rakesh fired at Dipak and walked away with his associate,” said an officer.
Dipak’s employees called the police and took him to the Calcutta Medical College and Hospital where he was admitted with bullet injuries. Late in the evening, his condition became critical and the family members said they planned to shift him to another facility.
Investigators said Rakesh had been working with Dipak for quite some time. “Rakesh had been allegedly threatening Dipak over the last few weeks to clear his dues after a conflict over the exact outstanding amount emerged,” said a police officer. “It is still too early to say that Rakesh allegedly opened fire over this.”