Dwaipayan.GhoshKolkata: A Karaya trader was left with multiple wounds after being attacked by a gang of nine men — led by prime accused Md Farukh Khan — with sharp weapons, iron rods and bamboo sticks near Tiljala Road.Police sources revealed that the planned attack stemmed from a bitter, ongoing legal dispute. Khan allegedly confronted the trader and demanded the immediate withdrawal of a criminal case registered at the Karaya police station, in which the victim’s wife is the primary complainant. The accused also threatened the victim, saying there would be “political and financial fallouts”.Following the violent attack, Karaya police registered a criminal case involving charges of hurt, extortion and criminal intimidation, and have launched a probe to track down the assailants.According to a formal complaint lodged by the trader, the incident occurred around 7 pm on Sept 21. Alam, the victim, was intercepted near the Tiljala Road crossing by Khan and his men. When the trader refused to yield to the pressure, the verbal argument escalated into a physical attack. Khan and his gang — allegedly armed with a sharp Chinese chopper, an iron rod, bamboo sticks and fists — surrounded the victim.Investigators said Khan used the Chinese chopper to inflict blows on the victim’s neck. In a desperate attempt to shield himself, the victim raised his right arm, absorbing the blow and sustaining a massive, deep laceration. The rest of the accused continued to beat him with blunt weapons and fists before he managed to break free and escape into a nearby lane.Local residents rushed a heavily bleeding trader to Nil Ratan Sircar (NRS) Medical College and Hospital for emergency medical treatment. Attending doctors stitched the deep wound on his right forearm, noting in medical reports that the injury resulted in permanent scarring.Before fleeing the spot, the assailants allegedly issued menacing threats to kill the trader and his family members, bragging about local political clout and immunity from law enforcement.“The complainant submitted a written petition detailing the ordeal, based on which an FIR has been drawn up under relevant provisions of the BNS covering attempted murder, criminal intimidation and gang assault with dangerous weapons,” said a senior officer of the South-East Division.Officers have launched raids across Tiljala and Karaya to track down Khan and his absconding associates, while CCTV footage from nearby commercial establishments is being scanned to trace the escape route of the motorbikes.
