Barrackpore villagers rejoiced yesterday after a man, accused of killing a robber, was released from police custody. The robber had terrorised and chopped family members of 52-year-old Shamshad Ali, of Barrackpore, last week Thursday. However, his joyful reunion with friends and relatives was shortlived as the released man had to be taken for medical treatment after his blood pressure went up. The man's wife said she was relieved that no charges were laid against him.
She said he was still traumatised by the ordeal and was now worried about the safety of other family members including her son-in-law, Roger Hosein, 24. Wiping away tears, she said: "The police had to do their investigations and that was why he was inside the station for so long. "I was happy the police realised that he did not do anything wrong. All he did was protect his family." Hosein, a fisherman, was chopped on his face, head and hands. Last Thursday, at around 4.45 pm, two thieves followed the woman through her open front door and chopped Hosein as he slept on a sofa.
They also beat the woman and threatened to kill her children. The thieves stole an undisclosed sum of money and jewelry before fleeing. The man was was driving up the road when he saw the thieves and his daughter screaming and covered in blood. As the robbers waved their cutlasses at him, he struck one of them with the car. Other villagers then tied the robbers to a car.
One of the robbers, Kenton Contara, died on the way to hospital. Police said Contara was a well-known thief who was wanted in connection with more than a dozen crimes in the Southern Division. His accomplice, who remained in police custody yesterday, had been released from jail just days before the incident after serving time for robbery.
