Mohammed Farhan Adil

Calcutta, Sept. 24: The child who was shot at last night in the heart of Calcutta died this morning, falling prey to a brawl over a cycle accident that appears to have been exploited by a gangster trying to regain his clout after a decade in exile.

Mohammed Farhan Adil, an 11-year-old boy on vacation in the city and playing outside his grandparents’ house, was hit in the temple. The shooting occurred less than 200 metres from Alimuddin Street where the CPM headquarters is located.

Investigators have pieced together a chain of events that sheds light on powder-keg pockets in Calcutta and the impunity with which inner-city crime lords can kill bystanders as young as an 11-year-old in the absence of persistent police action.

The prime accused in the murder is Mohammed Shahid alias Macney, an extortionist who was chased away from a nearby locality in 1998 by the police and residents. But Macney had returned last year, something the police were either unaware of or chose to ignore.

“He was trying to regroup and joined hands with Gadar, another extortionist. They opened fire to terrorise locals,” an officer said.

The cycle accident provided the spark Macney was waiting for. A cyclist from Mehdibagan, where Farhan was staying, hit a man from nearby Sandal Street on Wednesday, triggering the altercation.

Around 9.30pm, over 80 youths, apparently led by Macney from Sandal Street, raided Mehdibagan and started dragging two youths away.

But around 150 people from Mehdibagan formed a group and marched towards the abductors, following which Macney released the two youths. “The goons, including Gadar, fired at least five rounds to keep the crowd at bay,” an officer said.

Farhan was hit in the head. “He died at NRS Hospital around 9.30 this morning,” said Tarapada Dutta, the officer-in-charge of Taltala police station. Another 11-year-old boy, Vicky, was hit in the hand but was released from hospital after first aid.

A police picket is posted round the clock in the area but residents said the policemen ran away when the trouble broke out. The police kiosk in Mehdibagan was not manned.

“Criminals rule the roost here and my son was killed in a gang war,” said Nausherwan Adil, Farhan’s father. Nausherwan hails from Bihar and runs a transport business. Farhan studied in Jharkhand, not Darjeeling as some neighbours had said last night.

The police have arrested Macney and two accomplices and are looking for Gadar.