Krishnagar residents in shock after girl murder within 500m of SP office
The Statesman | 28 August 2025
Even 24 hours after the daylight killing of 19-year-old student Isha Mallik in the heart of Krishnagar, the town remains gripped by disbelief and fear. That a youth could walk into a house situated barely 500 metres from the superintendent of police’s office, shoot a girl at point-blank range, and flee unchecked has left residents asking if security in the town is little more than an illusion.
The audacity of the crime has turned the spotlight on two pressing questions: how easily are firearms slipping into civilian hands, and did the assailant receive help in tracking the family’s private movements?
The name of the suspected killer, 24-year-old Debraj Singh, has now emerged as central to the probe. Singh, who once studied with Isha at Kendriya Vidyalaya, Kanchrapara, is believed to have maintained a relationship with her that grew strained after she moved back to Krishnagar following her Higher Secondary examinations. Singh, five years older, had earlier been expelled from school, police confirmed. Investigators suspect that the relationship soured into obsession, eventually culminating in Monday’s fatal confrontation.
Police sources suggest that Singh had precise knowledge of the Mallik household’s schedule. On Monday, when Isha’s mother, Kusumkoli Mallik, stepped out to fetch her younger son from school, Singh stepped in the staircase of the family’s Manikpara residence. At the time, Isha had just emerged from her bath. A close-range shot to her forehead felled her instantly. When her mother returned moments later, she encountered Singh on the staircase; a scuffle broke out, and Singh allegedly attempted to fire again. The bullet misfired, allowing the mother and son to retreat into another room. By then, Isha lay lifeless on the floor.
Neighbours, alarmed by Kusumkoli’s cries, rushed in, but Singh had already disappeared. Investigators are now examining CCTV footage from the national highway 12 corridor and railway lane flanking the Mallik residence to trace his escape route.
The brazenness of Singh’s operation has raised doubts about whether he acted alone. “Such precise timing indicates either prior surveillance or communication with someone aware of the family’s routine,” a senior police officer remarked off the record. The ease with which Singh procured a firearm has also reignited concerns about illegal weapons circulating in Nadia and adjoining districts.
Additional superintendent of police Meet Kumar, while confirming Singh’s role as a former classmate and acquaintance, maintained that “all angles, including the origin of the weapon, are under investigation.”
“If such a crime can be carried out in the shadow of the SP’s office, what safety do ordinary people have?” asked a resident of Manikpara.