Indian border policeman guns down 5 colleagues, himself

Published December 4, 2019
There have been over 300 suicides in the Indian military and a string of so-called “fratricide” incidents since 2016. – AP/File
There have been over 300 suicides in the Indian military and a string of so-called “fratricide” incidents since 2016. – AP/File

A policeman from India's armed border force opened fire on his colleagues on Wednesday, killing five of them before turning the gun on himself, police said.

Constable Musudul Rehman of the Indo-Tibetan Border Police (IPBP) opened fire on his comrades in Chhattisgarh, a restive central state long wracked by a left-wing insurgency.

“He later shot himself after shooting seven personnel,” according to a statement issued by the ITBP. The two injured were being airlifted to state capital Raipur.

Mineral-rich Chhattisgarh is among India's most impoverished states, where Maoist rebels have been fighting for decades for greater rights over land and resources.

Tens of thousands of soldiers, rebels and others have been killed there since the 1960s. The government has deployed tens of thousands of police and special commandos in a bid to eradicate the groups.

There have been over 300 suicides in the Indian military and a string of so-called “fratricide” incidents since 2016, prompting government initiatives including counsellors, help lines and even yoga.

Separately the military said that four soldiers were killed in occupied Kashmir on Tuesday, three of them in an avalanche and a fourth who died in a blizzard.

Two others died on Saturday in an avalanche some 4,500 metres up on the Siachen glacier, known as the world's highest militarised zone.

Opinion

Editorial

Judiciary’s SOS
Updated 28 Mar, 2024

Judiciary’s SOS

The ball is now in CJP Isa’s court, and he will feel pressure to take action.
Data protection
28 Mar, 2024

Data protection

WHAT do we want? Data protection laws. When do we want them? Immediately. Without delay, if we are to prevent ...
Selling humans
28 Mar, 2024

Selling humans

HUMAN traders feed off economic distress; they peddle promises of a better life to the impoverished who, mired in...
New terror wave
Updated 27 Mar, 2024

New terror wave

The time has come for decisive government action against militancy.
Development costs
27 Mar, 2024

Development costs

A HEFTY escalation of 30pc in the cost of ongoing federal development schemes is one of the many decisions where the...
Aitchison controversy
Updated 27 Mar, 2024

Aitchison controversy

It is hoped that higher authorities realise that politics and nepotism have no place in schools.