CRPF trooper kills three colleagues

Jammu: A Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) trooper shot dead three colleagues and then shot and seriously wounded himself in Udhampur district in Jammu and Kashmir, police said on Thursday.

CRPF Constable Ajit Singh fired shot dead the three colleagues inside a camp in Battal Ballian area on Wednesday night after a heated exchange of words, a police officer said.

The incident occurred around 10.40pm.

Ajit Singh belongs to Kanpur in Uttar Pradesh. The deceased were identified as Head Constables Umeed Singh of Rewari (Haryana), Yogendra Sharma (Delhi) and Pokarmal of Jhunjhunu (Rajasthan).

This is the first fratricidal incident of this year in Jammu and Kashmir.

Security forces have in the past engaged counsellors to address the problem which have been attributed to long duty hours in hostile environment, separation from families, lack of recreational activities and a weak command and control structure.

Better command and control, frequent leave facilities to join families and adequate recreational facilities are some of the remedial measures suggested by counsellors to address the problem.

Moreover, two policemen were injured on Thursday in an ongoing gunfight between security forces and militants in Jammu and Kashmir’s Sopore town.

Police said a Station House Officer (SHO) and his security guard were injured when militants holed up in a house hurled a grenade at the security forces during a cordon and search operation in Warpora area.

“Both the policemen have been shifted to Srinagar for specialized treatment. The operation against the militants is going on,” a police officer said.

When the security personnel were encircling the militant hideout, the militants opened fire at the security forces, triggering a gun battle.

As a precaution, authorities have suspended mobile Internet service in Sopore town. Separately, an Indian soldier was killed on Thursday in Pakistani firing on the Line of Control (LoC) in Jammu and Kashmir’s Rajouri district.

Defence Ministry sources said the Pakistan Army resorted to unprovoked shelling of mortars and firing with small arms to target Indian positions in the Sunderbani sector.

Indo-Asian News Service