The Kharagpur shooting that initially appeared to be a gang attack was an accidental firing inside a house involving an unlicensed 9mm pistol, West Midnapore Superintendent of Police Papia Sultana said on Thursday. Police have arrested three youths and launched a wider operation against illegal firearms and gang-linked networks in the city.
The injured person, 16-year-old Akshay Kumar Jha, was taken to Kharagpur Railway Hospital with a bullet injury after the incident came to light. According to the police account, Akshay was handling the firearm out of curiosity when it discharged. Two rounds were fired and one struck him.
Sultana said the incident did not take place on a road while Akshay and his friend were travelling by motorcycle, as was initially reported to police. Instead, it occurred inside a house in Kharagpur, about 130 km southwest of Kolkata.
Police arrested Sagar Kumar, 23, Kola Jogeshwar Rao, alias Chintu, 23, and Bishal Jana, aged around 22-23. The three were produced before the Chief Judicial Magistrate court in Midnapore, where police sought their custody for further investigation. Another person is being traced.
Police said Sagar initially told investigators that he and Akshay had been attacked while travelling to have food in Ward 20. The account came under scrutiny after investigators found inconsistencies while examining CCTV footage and questioning people in the area. Police also reviewed phone calls made by Sagar around the time of the shooting and questioned people with whom he had spoken.
The investigation indicated that the firearm had been kept at a house belonging to Prasad, a deceased member of the Sinu Naidu gang. Police said the weapon remained there after Prasad’s death. Sagar was allegedly examining the firearm before going to the washroom, during which time Akshay picked it up and fired it.
Police subsequently seized the unlicensed 9mm pistol and three rounds of ammunition. Blood-stained clothes recovered from the house have been sent for forensic examination. The police have registered a case under the Arms Act.
Sultana said the investigation had found no evidence of a gang attack. She said Sagar panicked after the shooting, contacted friends and then took the injured boy to hospital. The initial account nevertheless prompted police to form five teams to investigate what was believed to be an armed attack.
The police response has now expanded beyond the individual case. Sultana said teams would search the houses of people associated with gangs, including networks linked to Sinu Naidu and Ram Babu, with the aim of seizing illegal firearms. She warned gang members that police would not allow a return to a period when rival groups could openly use guns against one another.
She also appealed to residents to share information about illegal arms and criminal activity, promising that the identities of informants would be kept confidential. The arrested youths remain subject to the court process while police continue tracing another person and examining the seized weapon and forensic evidence.
