In a concerning development coming from Chhattisgarh, a CRPF officer opened fire at his colleagues in an incident where 4 Jawans were killed and 3 were left injured. The incident happened on Monday, 3:15 AM at a camp in Sukma district. The accused opened fire with his service weapon, an AK-47, at the CRPF’s 50thBattalion under the Maraiguda police station.

The incident happened about 400 kms from the Chhattisgarh capital Raipur. After the incident, the gravely injured Jawans were rushed to the nearby hospital at Bhadrachalam. While 4 personnel were declared dead on arrival, 3 were reported to be injured. As of now, a clear motive or reasoning behind this tragic mishap hasn’t been ascertained.

It should be noted that this is not an isolated event. Earlier this year in January, a CRPF officer had injured his fellow officer after opening fire at them.

Background

The Central Reserve Police Force is an of the armed police force that handles matters pertaining to internal security. It’s the largest armed police force in the country with as many as 246 battalions and 3,00,000 personnel (2019).

Earlier this year, the CRPF was part of the news due to the Sukma—Bijapur attack. In April, personnel of CRPF were ambushed by Naxalites. In that particular incident, as many as 22 security personnel were killed.

If we equate India to a human body, then the CRPF can be considered the body’s immune system that fends off and ends any foreign body that can be a threat. But what happens when the security forces against internal threat carries threat to itself?


Also Read: Akhilesh Yadav Should Step Forward and Get the Narco Test Says BJP Minister Shukla


The Facts of the Matter

A CRPF jawan went on a rampage at Sukma district, Chhattisgarh as he opened fire at his fellow CRPF jawans. In the mishap 4 jawans were killed while 3 others were injured. On wee hours of Monday morning, the CRPF’s 50th battalion in Linganpali village witnessed the violent side of one of its jawan who took his service weapon, an AK-47, and opened fire at colleagues.


Also Read: Akshay Kumar is Back with Rohit Shetty’s Action Drama ‘Sooryavanshi’ in the Theaters


Jawan Detained, Injured Airlifted

According to reports, the accused was CRPF constable Reetesh Ranjan. After firing his service weapon, the jawan was detained straight away. Meanwhile, the 7 injured were took to the Government Hospital in Bhadrachalam.

From the 7 injured, 4 jawans – Rajmani Kumar Yadav, Rajib Mondal, Dhanji and Dharmendra Kumar, were declared dead on arrival. Meanwhile 1 injured was reported to be in treatment at the Bhadrachalam hospital while other 2 injured were airlifted to a Raipur hospital.

Accused Jawan Suffered from Emotional Stress: CRPF

Meanwhile, The Hindu report claimed that the jawan could’ve been going through “emotional stress” which may have led to the sudden violent outburst. The report also quoted a CRPF spokesperson saying, “The local police has begun investigation into the case and all legal actions will follow. The Central Reserve Police Force [CRPF] has ordered an inquiry into the incident to ascertain the cause of incident and suggest remedial measures.

He further added, “Prima facie, it seems that due to some emotional stress leading to sudden psychological disbalance, constable Reetesh Ranjan lost his control and in a fit of rage opened fire on his colleagues.”


Also Read: Puducherry: Video Shows Scooter Laden with Firecrackers Explode, Father & Son Charred in Aftermath


Previous CRPF Shooting Incidents

It should be noted that this has not been an isolated event where a jawan had an outburst like this. Earlier in January this year, a CRPF personnel opened fire and ended up injuring his fellow jawan, killing another in Bastar district. The jawan had then tried to commit suicide.

Similarly, in 2017, 4 CRPF jawans died after their fellow officers opened fire at them. Another jawan was left injured in the incident that was reported from Bijalpur.