Four Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) personnel, including two sub-inspectors (SIs), were today killed and another wounded in a gunfire allegedly opened by their colleague at a camp in Chhattisgarh's Bijapur district, officials said.
The fratricide was reported around 5 PM at the 'G' company camp of the paramilitary force's 168th battalion in Basaguda, about 450 km from here, Deputy Inspector General of Police (Dantewada range) Sundarraj P told PTI in Raipur.
Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Raman Singh has condemned the the killing of the CRPF men -- deployed for anti-Naxal operations in the state.
According to preliminary information, constable Sanath Kumar (35) allegedly opened fire with his service weapon, an AK 47 rifle, leaving four personnel dead on the spot and another injured, he said.
Three of the four CRPF men killed in the fratricide were senior to Kumar, a resident of Firozabad in Uttar Pradesh.
The deceased were identified as SI Vikey Sharma (34) hailing from Samba district of Jammu and Kashmir, SI Megh Singh (52) from Ahmedabad in Gujarat, Assistant SI Rajveer Singh (48) from Jhunjhunu in Rajasthan and constable G Sankara Rao (37) from Vijaynagram in Andhra Pradesh,?a police official told PTI.
ASI Gajanand (49), a native of Rewari in Haryana, suffered injuries in his ribs during the firing, the official said.
The bodies and the injured ASI were evacuated from Basaguda to Bijapur at 6 PM. An MI17 helicopter was sent to airlift the injured and the bodies to Raipur, he added.
Officials said Kumar was soon overpowered and apprehended by other colleagues who were present in the camp. The jawans reportedly had a brawl before the fatal incident took place and a probe has been ordered into the incident, they added.
"The chief minister has condemned the incident which took place in Basaguda village of Bijapur around 5 PM today," an official statement here said.
Expressing condolence, Chief Minister Singh extended sympathy to the family members of the victims, according to an official statement.
He has also prayed for the speedy recovery of the injured ASI, it said.
