Assistant commandant among four CISF personnel killed in Kathua firing

A CISF jawan opened fire at his colleagues at a camp in Kathua district of Jammu and Kashmir, killing four of them, including an assistant commandant, officials said. The incident took place on Tuesday evening and is being treated as fratricide, or firing among personnel of the same force.

The personnel were deployed at the Sewa hydel power project at Mashka village in the Basohli area, close to the Himachal Pradesh border. The area adjoins Chamba district of Himachal Pradesh.

Officials said an argument took place between two jawans over an issue, and one of them opened indiscriminate firing, PTI reported. India Today reported that the firing took place during a duty change, when an argument broke out among the CISF personnel. The four were first seriously injured and later died, it reported.

ANI reported that a head constable of the 2009 batch shot dead four personnel following a verbal argument at the Sewa-II Hydroelectric Project unit at about 7 pm. Aaj Tak reported the incident took place at 7.10 pm.

Early reports identified the dead as Assistant Commandant Ankit Kumar Pandey, Sub-Inspector Laxman Singh, Constable Rafiq Ahmad and Constable Sandeep Kumar, with ABP Live citing PTI for the names. The Northlines reported the four were critically injured and were shifted to a hospital in Himachal Pradesh, and that official confirmation of the deaths was awaited.

The accused, a head constable, has been taken into custody, The Northlines reported, adding that security was strengthened around the project site. Police and security agencies have begun an investigation into the circumstances that led to the firing.

A team from the Kathua district police has reached the spot and has been entrusted with the investigation. The CISF headquarters has ordered a Court of Inquiry to establish the sequence of events, and the Director General of the CISF is monitoring the probe, India Today reported. Senior officers have rushed to the scene and further details are awaited, officials said.

(With inputs from PTI)