A 28-year-old woman who was on her way home after performing physiotherapy was fatally struck by one of the bullets allegedly fired by a cop whose duty was to guard the Bangladesh deputy high commission.
Rima Singh, a resident of 133 Fakir Mistri Bagan Lane of Paschim Daspara in Howrah, was possibly walking to Circus Avenue, from where she would have caught a bus for Howrah. “That was her daily routine,” a family member said.
The only earning member of her family, Rima had been doing physiotherapy to sustain her family since his father lost his job five years ago.
“Rima had been running the family since her father lost his job. She was pursuing a graduation course in arts but could not complete it. She enrolled for a physiotherapy course at a private institute in Fuleswar (Howrah),” mother Rina told Metro.
Rima was one of the three persons struck by bullets allegedly fired by Calcutta police constable Chodup Lepcha.
Rima, who suffered a bullet wound on the right side of her throat, slumped in a pool of blood, police said. She was taken to the Calcutta Natio-
nal Medical College and Hospital, where she was declared dead, said an officer at Lalbazar.
As news about the death of a woman on a busy thoroughfare spread and was telecast by television channels, the wife of the landlord of the building where Rima’s family lives alerted her mother.
“My daughter left home around noon like every other day. In the afternoon my landlord’s wife came running to me asking where Rima was. I said she had gone to perform physiotherapy. Then she broke the news,” Rina said.
A family member said Rima’s wedding had been fixed and was deferred because of a death in the groom’s family.
The groom’s family was apparently scheduled to visit Rima’s house on Friday evening to finalise the wedding date.
Apart from her parents, Rima left behind a younger brother.
“When my son passed Class XII and started to look for a job to support the family, Rima objected and said she would arrange money for his higher studies. She wanted him to study and have a proper career,” Rina said.
Rima’s body has been kept at the Calcutta National Medical College and Hospital and will undergo post-mortem on Saturday.
