Kolkata, May 16 (IANS): In yet another shocking incident in the industrial town of Barrackpore in North 24 Parganas district of West Bengal, bullets were fired in broad daylight inside a congested eating joint.

According to eyewitnesses, the firing took place when several customers were having food at the popular eatery, D Bapi Biryani, which is located at the busy Mohanpur crossing on the Barrackpore-Barasat Road. Suddenly three motorcycle-borne persons came to the eatery and fired two to three rounds. Two persons, an employee of the eatery and a customer, were injured in the firing. They have been admitted to Dr BN Basu Sub-divisional Hospital and are currently undergoing treatment.

Eyewitnesses added that all the three miscreants were wearing helmets and hence could not be identified. They were reportedly sporting black t-shirts. The three came from Barrackpore city, but after the firing they left towards Barasat side.

The local people said that it was probably the handwork of the local extortion racket. However, the chairman of Barrackpore municipality, Uttam Das, has ruled out the extortion angle behind the incident. Locals also informed that previously too owners of several shops and eateries in the area, including this one, have received extortion threats.

"There had been no report of extortion demand in the last one month and hence this angle can be ruled out. It seems the miscreants came from outside," Das said.

A police contingent led by Barrackpore police commissioner Manoj Verma reached the spot. He said the police will investigate all the angles and try to nab the miscreants at the earliest.