Four Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) personnel, including an assistant commandant, were killed after a colleague allegedly opened fire with his service rifle at a security camp guarding a hydropower project in Jammu and Kashmir’s Kathua district on Tuesday evening.
The incident took place at the CISF deployment at the Sewa hydel power project in Mashka village in the Basohli area, close to the Himachal Pradesh border, at around 6:40–7:30 pm during a change of duty.
The deceased were identified as Assistant Commandant Ankit Kumar Pandey, Sub-Inspector Lakshman Singh, and constables Sanjeev Kumar and Mohd Rafiq, according to officials.
Pandey was the company commander of the CISF unit deployed at the power project. The four personnel were critically injured in the shooting and were taken to an NHPC hospital in neighbouring Himachal Pradesh, where they later succumbed to their injuries.
Preliminary information indicates that a CISF head constable allegedly opened fire with his AK-47/service rifle following an argument with colleagues.
Dispute about child brought to project site
The accused has been identified in reports as CISF Head Constable Awdhesh Singh. He was overpowered by colleagues after the firing and taken into custody.
A police officer investigating the incident said Singh’s argument with his colleagues and company commander Ankit Kumar Pandey was reportedly related to having to bring his child to the project site frequently. However, officials have not yet established the exact cause of the confrontation or whether other factors contributed to the shooting.
Singh’s wife is also employed by the CISF, according to police. His service weapon was seized following the incident, and he is being questioned by police and other investigating agencies.
Incident described as fratricide
Officials have described the shooting as a case of fratricide, referring to violence in which a member of a security force kills fellow personnel from the same force.
The firing reportedly occurred during a change of duty after an argument broke out among personnel stationed at the remote security deployment.
Senior CISF and police officers reached the site after the incident, while a team from Kathua district police was assigned the investigation.
CISF headquarters has ordered a Court of Inquiry to establish the sequence of events and determine the circumstances that led to the shooting. The Kathua district police are also investigating the incident, while the CISF Director General is monitoring the situation and the ongoing probe.
Officials have so far not established precisely what triggered the argument or how the confrontation escalated into the shooting.
Remote location near Himachal Pradesh border
The Sewa hydropower project is located in the mountainous Basohli area at the far end of Kathua district, close to Himachal Pradesh’s Chamba district.
The CISF company was deployed on the Jammu and Kashmir side of the Chamera Dam over the Ravi River. The remote site is reportedly more accessible through Himachal Pradesh than from other parts of Kathua.
The project is situated on the Sewa River, a tributary of the Ravi, in a sparsely connected mountainous area.
The CISF is responsible for protecting critical infrastructure across India, including installations vital to power generation and transmission.
The personnel involved in Tuesday’s incident were deployed to secure the hydel power project in the remote mountainous region.
