4 CRPF soldiers killed after colleague opens fire in Chhattisgarh
A Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) soldier opened fire at a camp in Chhattisgarh's Sukma district on Monday, killing four of his colleagues and injuring three others. Constable Reetesh Ranjan reportedly attacked the victims using his service weapon, an AK-47 rifle, officials said. The injured personnel are undergoing treatment at a hospital. Here are more details on this.
Why does it matter?
The incident has raised concerns over increasing cases of fratricide among CRPF personnel. In January this year, a CRPF jawan was killed and another one injured after their colleague opened fire at them in their camp in Bastar district of the state. The accused soldier had then tried to kill himself, according to the police.
Incident occurred around 3:30 am
Monday's incident took place around 3:30 am in the camp of CRPF's 50th battalion in Linganpalli village, Inspector General of Police (Bastar range) Sundarraj P said. The injured personnel were immediately shifted to a hospital in nearby Bhadrachalam area of Telangana where doctors declared four of them dead. The four have been identified as constables Rajmani Kumar Yadav, Rajib Mondal, Dhanji, and Dharmendra Kumar.
Accused soldier arrested; probe ordered
Constable Ranjan has been arrested and his interrogation is underway. The CRPF has ordered a court of inquiry to probe the matter. "The motive behind the firing is yet to be ascertained and an investigation is on into the incident," an official said. Sources told the media there had been a fight between Ranjan and his colleagues days before Monday's incident.
'Very unfortunate,' says CRPF IG
"It is a very unfortunate incident and we have lost good soldiers. The jawan who opened fire has been detained, his arms surrendered, and is undergoing preliminary treatment," CRPF IG D Prakash told The Quint.
