Bihar: Schoolboy shot in Kharagpur; police detain suspects

Kolkata, Oct 7 (SocialNews.XYZ) A schoolboy was shot while riding on a bike in Kharagpur in West Midnapore district on Wednesday.

The student is undergoing treatment at a hospital in Kolkata and is reported to be in a critical condition.

The injured boy has been identified as Akshay Jha.

According to local sources, he was riding on the pillion seat of a bike in the railway area of Old Settlement, Ward No. 20, in Kharagpur at around 11.30 a.m. on Wednesday.

Shots were allegedly fired at the moving bike, and one of the bullets hit Akshay in the chest.

He was taken to a local hospital in serious condition and was later shifted to Kolkata for advanced treatment.

The rider of the bike said he did not know why the shooting took place or who fired the shots.

On the other hand, residents claimed that no one heard the sound of firing.

As a result, there is confusion over how, when and why the shooting took place.

Police are investigating the matter.

Personnel from Kharagpur Town Police Station are trying to ascertain the motive behind the incident.

However, police said they were certain that a shooting had taken place.

The initial investigation suggests that the firing occurred during a dispute between two groups.

As a result, several suspects have been detained for questioning.

Local councillor D. Basanti said the injured student is the son of an employee of the Railway Health Department.

"I went to the railway hospital after receiving the news," Basanti said.

He added that he learnt that miscreants had fired two shots, one of which hit the minor on the left side of his chest.

Basanti further claimed that, at the time of the incident, two persons were riding a scooter without a number plate.

He also expressed the suspicion that the intended target might have been Sagar Kumar, the son of Prasad and a friend of Akshay.

According to Basanti, the two had gone out for refreshments when the incident occurred.

He further claimed that Prasad belonged to the Srinu Naidu group and that both Prasad and Srinu had died in separate firing incidents in the past.

Meanwhile, West Midnapore Superintendent of Police Papiya Sultana said there were two groups in the area and a firing incident had taken place between them.

She said five people had already been arrested and seven police teams had been formed to investigate the case.

The Superintendent of Police added that footage from all CCTV cameras in the area was being collected and analysed.

Source: IANS