Six ITBP Jawans Killed, Two Injured in Firing Among Themselves

An ITBP jawan allegedly fired at his colleagues with his service weapon.

Photo used for representational purposes.

(Photo: PTI)

In a suspected case of fratricide, an ITBP jawan allegedly opened fire at his colleagues in Chhattisgarh's insurgency-hit Narayanpur district on Wednesday, 4 December, killing five personnel and injuring two others, news agency PTI reported, quoting a senior police official.

The jawan who opened fire also got killed in the incident, taking the total tally of casualties to six.

HOW DID THE INCIDENT TAKE PLACE?

The incident took place around 8.30 am in a camp of the Indo-Tibetan Border Police's (ITBP) 45th battalion in Kadenar village, located around 350 km from Raipur, Inspector General of Police (Bastar range) Sundarraj P told PTI.

“An ITBP constable opened fire from his service weapon, killing four troopers at the spot and injuring three other jawans, after some unknown dispute among them,” he said.

One of the injured personnel succumbed to his injuries later, he said.

WHO IS THE ALLEGED ASSAILANT

Speaking to PTI, Sundarraj identified the ITBP constable who opened fire as Masudul Rahman.

While the IG said it was not yet clear whether Rahman killed himself or died in retaliation by his colleagues, sources confirmed to The Quint that he shot himself during the incident.

WHAT THE INVESTIGATION SO FAR SAYS

Preliminary investigation into the alleged fratricide incident at a Chhattisgarh ITBP camp found that Rahman had used another troopers' gun, sources told PTI on Thursday, 5 December.

Rahman reportedly had a “dispute” with the five jawans and he randomly picked up Constable Bijeesh's AK-47 rifle to shoot them on Wednesday.

Rahman did not have his weapon as he had deposited it at the unit’s armoury after his leave was sanctioned, the official sources said.

Officials said Rahman had been granted leave and he was supposed to go home on the day the fratricidal killings took place. Rahman had stated to his unit commander in July that he will avail leave to go home in December, they said.

Initial investigation also shows that Rahman was killed during an exchange of fire between him and Constable Surjit Sarkar

WHO GOT KILLED?

Those killed were identified as head constables Mahendra Singh and Daljit Singh, and constables Surjit Sarkar, Biswaroop Mahto and Bijeesh, apart from Rahman, according to PTI.

Mahendra Singh reportedly belonged to Himachal Pradesh. He is a resident of Sadyar village in Ghumarwin tehsil of Bilaspur district. Himachal Chief Minister Jai Ram Thakur expressed grief over his death.

Constables SB Ullas and Sitaram Doon were also injured in the incident and were airlifted and admitted to a private hospital in Raipur for treatment.