RPF constable's gun goes off in Kolkata metro station, 3 injured

The incident occurred at the Dumdum Metro railway station premises on Friday afternoon, Kolkata police said.

Representational image / DNA

Kolkata: Three persons including a child got injured after the rifle of a Railway Protection Force (RPF) constable went off during change of duty at the Dumdum Metro railway station premises here on Friday afternoon, police said.

Kolkata Metro General Manager Ajay Vijayvargiya has ordered a "high-level inquiry" into the incident and promised stringent action against those found guilty, an official said.

The incident happened at around 1.45 p.m. near one of the ticket counters at the metro station when an RPF constable was handing over his rifle to another as his duty got over.

"The rifle of an RPF constable got accidentally dropped on the ground while changing hands inside the Dumdum Metro station premises. The bullet rebounded from the floor of the station complex. A woman and her son sustained splinter injuries in the incident," said Kolkata Metro CPRO Indrani Banerjee.

A metro employee also got hit in the process, she said.

According to eyewitnesses, the splinters of the bullet brushed the hand of Sonarpur resident Sangeeta Basu before hitting the leg of her nine-year-old son Saptarshi Basu, who were standing in a queue to buy tickets.

Following the incident, panic gripped the commuters as well as hundreds of passengers of adjoining Dumdum railway station.

The injured mother and son were rushed to the nearby RG Kar Medical College and Hospital.

"None of the injuries were serious. They were released from the hospital after first aid," a metro official said.