A mother and daughter were severely injured when a young man attacked them on Bamacharan Roy Road in southwest Kolkata’s Behala area while they were returning home on Sunday night, police said.
The youth, identified as Bappa Neogy, 23, has been arrested.
On Monday evening, the condition of the mother and the daughter was critical. Doctors said the daughter had received at least 35 stitches all over her body.
During interrogation, Bappa is said to have told police that there was no immediate trigger for the attack. The two families, neighbours, had a long-standing feud over trivial things, a police officer said.
Eyewitnesses have told the police that Bappa attacked Rekha and Lata Halder with a rod when they were about to the enter their house. When the girl managed to hold the rod, Bappa allegedly laid his hands on a sharp cutting weapon that was lying nearby and attacked the two.
“The residents of the area were alarmed by the cries of the mother and the daughter. They were the first to inform us,” said a senior officer of Behala police station. “After reaching the spot we learnt that Bappa had taken shelter in his sister’s house in the area. He was arrested from that house.”
The police said the attack happened around 9pm, when most people of the neighbourhood were indoors watching the T20 match between India and New Zealand.
Rekha's husband, a cab driver, was out for work. He reached home soon after receiving a call from one of his friends. The mother and daughter were admitted to Vidyasagar State General Hospital.
“Bappa sells vegetables in the a market in the area,” the officer said.
