Patna: Upset over “poor” working conditions, a central industrial security force (CISF) head constable fired indiscriminately at his colleagues, killing four of them, including a senior, at a power plant in Bihar’s Aurangabad district on Thursday. The accused was immediately overpowered and arrested.
A report said that the head constable, Balveer Singh from Aligarh, Uttar Pradesh, was agitated over poor sleeping arrangements in his barrack, while another account attributed the incident to leave-related disputes he had with his seniors.
This is the latest in a string of cases in which facilities being provided to paramilitary jawans have come under scrutiny.
Those killed were identified as head constables Amarnath Mishra and Bacha Sharma and assistant sub-inspector G.S. Ram. The identity of one deceased head constable was not immediately known.
Sources said that the Union home ministry has sought a detailed report on the incident. The accused had in 2008 joined the CISF that guards India’s most vital civil and government installations, including airports and atomic plants.
Those killed were unarmed and off-duty when the incident took place at a Nabinagar Power Generation Company Ltd (NPGCL) unit, 175 km from Patna, where they were stationed. NPGCL is a joint venture of the National Thermal Power Corporation (NTPC) and Bihar’s state electricity board.
The incident comes days after a border security force (BSF) jawan posted videos on his Facebook page alleging bad food being served at a camp in Kashmir. On Thursday itself, a video posted by a central reserve police force (CRPF) jawan complaining about poor working conditions and pay structure surfaced. The CRPF is India’s largest paramilitary force.
About the Bihar incident, the police said the accused recently attended and returned from a yoga training, often made mandatory for jawans to reduce stress. Aurangabad’s superintendent of police (SP) Satyprakash said the accused was being questioned. The CISF said a court of inquiry has been ordered into the incident. “We can confirm the reasons behind the incident only after we get inquiry reports”, CISF public relation officer Manjeet Singh said.
In 2014, a soldier killed five colleagues before shooting himself in Kashmir after a superior denied him leave.
