Seven CRPF (Central Reserve Police Force) troops were killed in a fratricide incident that took place in the 196 Battalion deployed in Jharkhand’s Maoist-hit Kuchai area in Saraikela on Friday night.
Havildar Harpinder Singh, 40, a resident of Punjab, started firing indiscriminately at his colleagues around 10pm on Friday night, killing six of them, including Assistant Commandant Bishau Singh.
The firing ended when Singh was eventually shot dead at 2am by CRPF personnel who returned his fire.
Singh had been promoted to the rank of Havildar around seven months back, around the same time his battalion was moved to Kuchai in Saraikela to combat the Maoists.
A source said that it was difficult to ascertain whether Singh was mentally disturbed, as it was initially suspected, but hinted at a minor tiff between Singh and the others.
Sources told DNA, “The issue behind the incident, as per a preliminary report on the matter, is that each day extra food was being prepared and wasted. This was informed to the seniors and an inquiry was held. The inquiry held Singh responsible as he was the Mess in-charge. On Friday, when the superiors saw the wasted food and questioned him, he fired at them in a drunken state.”
Another source said, “Havildar Harpinder was a married man, with his family back home in Punjab. In the battalion mess, he was Mess Commander for this month, a responsibility that is decided on a rotation basis.”
The bodies of all the jawans killed, including Singh’s, have been sent to their respective families. The CRPF has ordered an inquiry into the incident.
Those who have been killed are Bikau Singh, Assistant Commandant of Uttar Pradesh, Head Constable MC Patil of Maharashtra, Head Constable IR Khairnar of Maharashtra, Head Constable PT Rao of Andhra Pradesh, Head Constable Jatav Bhav Singh of Gujarat and Constable Vijay Kumar of UP.
Meanwhile, five Jharkhand State
Police troops were also killed on Friday in an anti-Maoist operation in Latehar. The troops belonged to the Special Task Force.
