School guard shot while foiling robbery attempt in West Bengal's Asansol

Kolkata: A night guard at a school in West Bengal's Asansol sustained serious injuries when he was shot by robbers as he fought back against them, police said on Sunday.

The robbers intercepted the motorcycle-riding guard, identified as Haridas Layek, on a deserted road under the cover of darkness last night. However, he resisted their attempts, leading to a brief scuffle. Unable to overpower him, the robbers fired multiple shots at him before fleeing the scene.

Layek has been admitted to a hospital, and his condition is said to be stable.

According to the police, Layek works as a night guard at Srihari Global School in Asansol in West Burdwan district. He hails from Dhaguri village under the Alladi Panchayat in Salanpur area and comes to work on a motorcycle every night.

He had set out from home as usual on Saturday night, and while he was travelling along National Highway 19, a group of masked robbers intercepted him.

After forcing him to stop, the robbers brandished weapons and attempted to take away his valuables. When he resisted, they fired two rounds in quick succession, hitting him in the leg.

Despite the injury, the young man continued to fight back against the attackers. Eventually, the robbers abandoned Haridas on the road and fled.

Upon receiving the news, officers from Salanpur Police Station arrived at the scene. The guard was rescued in a bloodied state and taken to Asansol District Hospital, where doctors performed surgery on his leg that same night.

On Sunday morning, the police recovered an empty cartridge casing from the scene. A search operation is underway to locate the miscreants, and 'naka' checks are being conducted in the area.

CCTV footage from the vicinity is also being examined to nab the miscreants. Senior police officials, including Asansol-Durgapur Police Commissioner Pranab Kumar, DC (West) Sana Akhtar, and DC (Central) Dhruba Das, visited the scene. The attempted robbery on a deserted road at night has sparked panic in the area.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

IANS

[email protected]