By Sk Badiruddin
A gruesome video showing the body of constable who died by suicide after going on a shooting spree near the Deputy High Commission Office of Bangladesh, in Kolkata's Park Circus area on Friday, is viral on social media with a false claim that he was shot dead by protesters.
BOOM found that the viral video shows Kolkata Police constable named Chodup Lepcha who went on a shooting spree killing a woman and injuring two others before shooting himself with his service rifle on June 10, 2022.
According to news reports, the incident took place a few hundred metres away from Seven-Point Crossing where protesters blocked roads and demanded the arrest of suspended Bharatiya Janata Party spokesperson Nupur Sharma for her remarks on the Prophet Mohammad during a TV debate.
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The 25 seconds video shows a cop in uniform lying motionless on in the middle of a street. The video later pans to a crowd showing the presence of police officials as well.
The clip has been shared on Facebook with a Hindi caption translating to "Police is being murdered by rioters in Kolkata"
BOOM has not included the video due to its graphic nature.
The tweet was deleted later.
BOOM also received the video with same claim on its WhatsApp helpline for verification.
The message in Hindi translates to, 'in Kolkata rioters shot dead a policeman and threatened other cops.'(Original text in Hindi: कोलकाता में दंगाईयों ने पुलिस वाले को मर डाला उसके बाद उसके साथी को भी धमकी दे रहे हे)
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Fact Check
BOOM ran a keywords search using search terms, 'Cop killed in Kolkata' which led us several news reports on it.
News outlet One India News titled their video as "Kolkata: Cop kills woman before shooting self in Park Circus". It was uploaded on YouTube on June 10, 2022.
TheNDTV's report published on YouTube on the same day shows similar visuals (timestamp 10-14 seconds).
According to the Indian Express , an on-duty police constable Chodup Lepcha shot himself after killing a woman and injuring two others with his service rifle in a broad daylight near the Bangladesh Deputy High Commission in central Kolkata's crowded Park Circus area on Friday, June 10, 2022, around 2:30 pm.
Lepcha was a part of the Fifth Battalion of the Kolkata Armed Police, fired around 10-15 rounds from his Self-Loading Rifle (SLR) when a bullet hit a woman and she fell off the motorbike she was riding as a pillion. She died on the spot due to excessive bleeding and two other men were also injured. The constable later shot himself dead.
The Telegraph reported Lepcha was originally from Tanka Gumba village in Kalimpong. He joined Kolkata Police after the death of his father in 2018. Kolkata Police commissioner Vineet Goyal said the police would investigate the cause behind the incident.
If you or anyone you know is facing mental health issues or feeling suicidal, help is available. The helpline numbers for suicide prevention can be viewed here.
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