Milan Roy at SSKM on Sunday (cellphone picture )

An unconscious accident victim wheeled into SSKM Hospital on Sunday morning turned out to be a murder accused, two .303 bullets in one of his trouser pockets giving him away.

Milan Roy, a resident of Dum Dum’s Rabindranagar, was arrested in January last year on charges of murder and drug-peddling. The 25-year-old was granted bail but he violated one of the preconditions by not appearing in the trial.

Roy has been arrested and is in police custody at the hospital. Biswajit Das, who had accompanied him to SSKM, has been detained at Bhowanipore police station.

“The bullets were found while medical attendants were examining him before inserting a catheter,” said Pradip Mitra, the director of SSKM’s Institute of Postgraduate Medicine and Research. “The bullets have been handed over to the police.”

Doctors said Roy’s condition was critical. “He has suffered a haemorrhage in the head and is yet to regain consciousness. There were also cuts and bruises all over his body,” said one of the doctors treating Roy.

Roy’s wife told the police that he had left home around 7.30pm on Saturday to buy some medicines in Barasat. He was riding a two-wheeler which was hit by a vehicle at the Bamangachhi crossing in Barasat.

Roy, bleeding from the head, was taken to Barasat State General Hospital where doctors advised his family members to shift him to a better hospital in the city.

“The accused was brought to RG Kar Medical College and Hospital but since his condition was critical, doctors referred him to SSKM,” said Joy Biswas, the sub-divisional police officer of Barasat.

Roy was brought to SSKM around 4.30am. Two hours later, a few medical attendants in the New Casualty Block discovered the two .303 bullets in the right pocket of his trousers.

“It’s the norm to check the belongings of an unconscious patient,” said an officer of Bhowanipore police station.

The discovery of the bullets sparked panic among hospital employees who alerted the police outpost on the SSKM premises.

Das, who was standing beside Roy’s bed, was taken to Bhowanipore police station for interrogation. The cops then got in touch with Dum Dum police station and learnt about the patient’s antecedents.

“Since he had not been admitted to either of the hospitals he was taken to before being brought here, the bullets remained in his pocket,” said an SSKM official.

The cops said Roy had three criminal cases pending against him. In June 2007, Dum Dum police had charged him with murder but failed to arrest him. Around the same time, the owner of jewellery shop in Dum Dum lodged a complaint of extortion against him.

On January 28, 2008, a team from Sinthee police station arrested Roy for alleged drug-peddling and handed him over to Dum Dum police, who charged him with murder.

“After he was granted bail, he never ever appeared in court,” said an officer.