Man injured as miscreants open fire over dispute with sweet shop owner in Bengal's Basirhat

A group of men attacked the sweet shop owner alleging that the sweets were of poor quality. They also opened fire leaving a customer, who had gone to the shop at that time, injured.

Basirhat:A 45-year-old man suffered bullet injuries in a firing incident at a sweet shop in West Bengal's Basirhat on Sunday night. Police have initiated an investigation.

The incident took place at College Para near Basirhat Taki Road. Nabin Kumar Das had gone to buy sweets when a group of unidentified men opened fire. He took shelter inside the shop in an injured condition. After the miscreants left the spot, Das was taken to the Basirhat super specialty hospital. Later, his condition turned critical and he was shifted to a hospital in north Kolkata. Doctors said he suffered bullet injuries in his hip and leg. His condition is serious and he is undergoing treatment, doctors said.

According to police, trouble broke out at the sweet shop following a verbal altercation between the staff and four unidentified men over poor taste of sweets. The men allegedly assaulted the sweet shop owner Tapas Mondal and the staff. After which, the miscreants left only to return with firearms some time later.

When they could not find the owner, they fired at the shop. Das, who had come to the shop at that time received bullet injuries. The miscreants also damaged the CCTV camera installed at the shop before leaving.

Likewise other weekends, the shop was quite crowded last evening. The incident triggered panic in the area. The owners of the adjoining shops closed down in fear. A team led by senior officers of Basirhat police reached the spot.

"They were a group of four and ordered rasgullas. A staff handed over a plate to them. One of the men started criticising the quality of the sweets and accused us of cheating customers. Since they were making a ruckus, I went and requested them to lower their voices. However, instead of replying they started hitting me. When my staff came to my rescue, they were hit as well. Although they left, they returned later and fire at the shop," the shop owner said.

Das said he had entered the sweet shop after buying medicines from the nearby shop. "Suddenly I heard a group of people pointing at me and next heard the sound of firing. Before I could understand what was happening I was injured in my leg and hip. I don't know who the attackers were," he said.

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