ITBP constable dead after fatally shooting five colleagues in Chhattisgarh's Narayanpur; two injured

In a suspected case of fratricide, an ITBP jawan allegedly opened fire at his colleagues in Chhattisgarh’s insurgency-hit Narayanpur district on Wednesday, killing five personnel and injuring two others, a senior police official said. The jawan who opened the fire was also killed, but it was not yet clear whether he committed suicide or was neutralised by fellow troopers, he said. The incident took place around 8.30 am in a camp of the Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP) 45th battalion in Kadenar village, located around 350 km from here, Inspector General of Police (Bastar range) Sundarraj P told PTI. “An ITBP constable, identified as Masudul Rahman, 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, while Rahman was also killed in the incident, he said. “It was not yet clear whether Rahman killed himself or died in retaliation by his colleagues. Weapons of the killed jawans will be checked to ascertain whether they had retaliated or not,” the IG said, adding that further details of the incident were awaited. The two injured jawans were airlifted and admitted to a private hospital in Raipur for treatment, he added. Those killed were identified as head constables Mahendra Singh and Daljit Singh, and constables Surjit Sarkar, Biswaroop Mahto and Bijeesh, apart from Rahman, he said. Besides, constables S B Ullas and Sitaram Doon were injured in the incident. They all belonged the ITBP’s 45th battalion, he added.