A bank employee who had stepped out of his office in Lake Gardens and was having tea at a roadside shop with a colleague was attacked by a man who allegedly used a blade to slash the banker’s neck.

The incident occurred in a crowded area at the Lord’s intersection in Lake Gardens on Monday.

The banker, identified as Anurag Mitra, 29, was rushed to hospital where he received 15 stitches for his neck wound.

“One of his colleagues was with my husband. He called me and informed me about the attack. I reached around an hour later from my office in Baguiati and found that my husband had already been taken to a hospital,” said Mitra’s wife Nandita Ghosh.

The couple live in Barrackpore.

Mitra, a private bank official, was with his colleague Sumon Adhikary.

“The suddenness of the incident left us stunned. Initially, I panicked as Mitra started bleeding profusely. However, as people began gathering, the attacker released my colleague. I cannot disclose much as the incident is under investigation,” Adhikary told Metro.

Ghosh said her husband was “in a state of trauma” when she saw him and had received 15 stitches on his wound.

“My husband’s office colleagues insisted that we should report the matter to police. We lodged a complaint at Lake Gardens police station,” Ghosh added.

The incident, which occurred close to the bank where Mitra works, has left many of his colleagues feeling scared and insecure.

The police registered an FIR and identified the accused — identified as a resident of Jodhpur Park. He was taken into custody. Later, he was produced at a court, where his family submitted documents suggesting that he required “treatment”.

A Kolkata Police officer said that based on the directive of the court the accused had been sent to an institution for treatment.

The police said they were also checking if the accused had a previous history of criminal charges againsthim.

“We have not found any apparent connection between the accused and the victim. There was no apparent motive,” said the officer.