On Wednesday, December 28, an actress named Riya Kumari was shot dead during a highway robbery attempt in West Bengal’s Howrah district.
Riya Kumari, an actress and YouTuber from Jharkhand famous by her stage name Isha Alya, was on her way to Kolkata from Ranchi along with her husband Prakash Kumar, and her three-year-old daughter. They were travelling to Kolkata via National Highway 16 in a car.
It was around 6 AM when Riya Kumari’s husband and film producer Prakash Kumar stopped his car near Mahishrekha, which comes under the Bagnan police station area, to relieve himself. Soon three people attacked Prakash and attempted to snatch his wallet, however, Riya Kumari stepped out of the car to help her husband. However, one of the robbers opened fire and shot Riya, and fled the spot.
As per the statement given by Prakash Kumar, after Riya was shot, he drove the car for three kilometres looking for help. He noticed some people along the highway in Kulgachia-Pirtala after which the locals assisted Kumar to take his wife to the SCC Medical College and Hospital in Uluberia where the doctors declared her brought dead.
According to Kumar, the attackers spoke in the Bengali language, which they could not understand. Reportedly, Prakash while speaking to the media did not rule out the personal enmity angle. However, he said that he had no idea why would they be attacked and assumed that the killers of his wife were tourists like him.
Riya Kumari,reportedly an actress from #Jharkhand, was shot dead after she allegedly thwarted a highway robbery at Bagnan in Howrah District of #WestBengal early this morning. Riya Kumari along with her husband & their 2-y-o daughter were travelling to Kolkata via NH-16 by a car. pic.twitter.com/5tem2Vg1Wb
— Piyali Mitra (@Plchakraborty) December 28, 2022
Briefing on the incident, police said that the car has been sent for forensic examination. Police are questioning Prakash Kumar. The daughter of the deceased victim will be questioned later. Police will question locals who helped Prakash take Riya to the hospital.
It is pertinent to note that police have reportedly sensed foul play after recording Prakash Kumar’s statement.
Police noticed that Prakash’s statement has too many coincidence factors that raise doubts.
The question that the investigating officers are concerned about is how the perpetrators learned that Kumar will stop the car. Second, why did Prakash not realize they were being followed? Additionally, the place where Prakash stopped the car was not a parking spot.
Officers suspect foul play as a result. Further, a state official stated that the investigators are attempting to determine whether CCTVs were installed anywhere in the vicinity.
