Unprecedented: Firing in posh Southern Avenue neighbourhood shocks residents
Times of India | 6 July 2024
Kolkata: Residents of the leafy and quiet Southern Avenue locality could not believe that a gang could enter a home in their neighbourhood and open fire. People could be seen standing in huddles on Friday, discussing how their neighbours, the Deys who lived on the eighth floor of a building on Lake Avenue, were targeted by a group of three, one of them a cleaner at their home.
The evening before, the cleaner, Sandip Das (28), and his associates, Bablu Das (22) and Subhas Das (23), had rang the doorbell of Debashis Dey (65). As he opened the door, the three entered and taped his mouth but his wife, Poonam Dey (59), raised an alarm, bringing neighbours to their floor. The three fled, but fired a shot before leaving, said police. The three were arrested.
Sixty-one-year-old Indranath Mukherjee looked shocked as he spoke to his neighbour, trader Shyamal Sahu, standing barely 10m from the nine-storey apartment. The two could not recall any other incident of shooting in their area. “I was born here and have lived all my life here. I have known Debashis-da since childhood,” said Mukherjee. “I’m shocked. It is even more scary as one of their service providers, who had been working for them for five years, was involved in this crime. While I hope police will find out the motive behind the firing, the very fact that a firearm was used is unnerving. We know the couple had multiple family issues. We we want police to establish if indeed criminals from Jharkhand carried out the crime.”
Many of the other neighbours, too, demanded that police should find out the actual motive behind the crime. Some said this was a good opportunity to assess and revamp the security of the area. Neighbours, like Sukesh Jain and those residing in the building, one of them Chanda Jain, said they were scared that two senior citizens, who lived on the top floor, could be targeted at such ease. “This flat is one of the oldest in the area. The property was developed by the victim’s father,” said a neighbour. “The security system needs to be upgraded but everything has remained like before. The building does not have CCTV cameras, the main gate did not use to be locked. We had a guard but he was often found missing from his room. These issues have been discussed but no measure has been taken,” said a resident of the building.
Lalbazar has issued an advisory, saying one is vulnerable to crimes even while inside the house. “A few simple steps need to be followed. This includes, locking cupboards, verifying the background of help and service providers, however trustworthy they might be, and avoiding financial discussions in front of outsiders. It is advisable to hire from trusted agencies or those who come with strong recommendations,” said a senior officer from the anti-burglary section at Lalbazar.