Vishal Agarwal leaves hospital on Sunday afternoon. (Pic by Amit Datta)

The J factor, cloaked in mystery, could hold the key to the dawn attack on Ballygunge Circular Road.

The J in question is the girl — she’s described herself as “playful”, “very passionate”, “dangerous” and “wild at times” on the social networking site Orkut, but we refrain from naming her pending investigation — who was Babar Khan’s friend but had also caught the fancy of Vicky, a common acquaintance.

According to police, when Vicky came too close for Miss J’s comfort late on Saturday on the cramped dance floor of Ginger, a lounge bar at Hazra, Babar blew his top and a scuffle ensued. Babar apparently knew Vicky — both in their late-20s — for a while.

“Babar and Vicky’s friends got involved, prompting the Ginger authorities to contact us at 2.30am. When our team reached, we were told that the trouble makers had been thrown out,” said an officer of Kalighat police station.

Vicky and his friends were thrown out while Babar, along with Miss J, left the bar by 3.30am. Nine of their friends — including DJs Ajay Jaiswal, Nadeem Khan, their girlfriends and a few others — stayed on at Ginger.

The aftershock of the altercation was felt in less than four hours when two assailants fired at least four gun shots at Vishal Agarwal and Shaqueel Khan, both Babar’s friends in their mid-20s.

“Vishal and Shaqueel had stood up for Babar during his showdown with Vicky at Ginger,” said Jaiswal, a DJ with Caught ’n’ Bowled in City Centre, Salt Lake.

The police are looking for Miss J and Vicky while they have already quizzed Babar, whom the cops describe as a small-time crook.

Following their regular ritual of bar-hopping — from Caught ’n’ Bowled in City Centre to Ginger next to Basusree cinema, the group of nine in two cars had reached New Sharma Hotel on Ballygunge Circular Road for a meal.

“All the members of Babar’s group were regulars at bars like Ginger and that’s how they befriended each other. Weekends for them meant late-night parties and long drives,” said an officer while describing their lifestyle.

“Our main concern is the use of a sophisticated firearm, which fired four bullets within a few seconds. We are also investigating whether the members of the group were involved in other criminal activities,” he added.