CISF Constable Opens Fire With AK-47, Kills Four Colleagues in J&K Kathua Camp
Four Central Industrial Security Force personnel, including a senior officer, were shot dead on Tuesday evening in an apparent fratricidal incident at a hydroelectric project camp in Jammu and Kashmir's Kathua district. The shooting occurred around 6:45 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. at the Sewa-III hydroelectric power plant located in Mashka village within the Basohli area, situated approximately 150 kilometers from Jammu city near the border with Himachal Pradesh.
Government data for Central Armed Police Forces covering a five-year period revealed numerous resignations, suicides, and fatalities resulting from fratricide incidents. Task force recommendations for paramilitary personnel also note that combat-zone challenges such as agitation, insomnia, and nightmares contribute significantly to suicidality.
The accused, identified as Head Constable Avdesh Kumar Singh of the 2009 batch, allegedly engaged in an argument with his colleagues before entering an office premises and opening indiscriminate fire with his service AK-47 rifle. According to Central Industrial Security Force records, the shooter was carrying 150 rounds of ammunition at the time of the incident. Senior officers from the force and the Jammu and Kashmir Police rushed to the remote hill site following the emergency.
According to India Today, cISF headquarters ordered a formal Court of Inquiry into the fratricide under the direct monitoring of the Director General of CISF to determine the sequence of events and cause of firing.
Casualties and Medical Response
The victims sustained critical gunshot wounds during the office attack. They were immediately transported across the state border to a nearby National Hydroelectric Power Corporation hospital located in neighbouring Himachal Pradesh for emergency medical treatment.
Despite medical intervention, all four injured personnel succumbed to their wounds at the hospital facility. The deceased were officially identified as Assistant Commandant Ankit Kumar Pandey, Sub-Inspector Lakshman Singh, Constable Rafiq Ahmed, and Constable Sandeep Kumar, reflecting a severe toll among the unit's leadership and rank-and-file personnel.
Detained by Colleagues and Investigation
Following the shooting, surviving personnel at the camp overpowered the suspect and seized his service weapon. The accused head constable was subsequently arrested and handed over to local law enforcement authorities who secured the perimeter.
Investigators have noted that the exact circumstances and the underlying nature of the altercation leading to the fatal shooting remain unclear. The Central Industrial Security Force has initiated an internal inquiry into the incident, while state police continue to examine the sequence of events at the installation.
Broader Security Context in Jammu Division
The violent episode highlights ongoing security and internal discipline concerns across guarded infrastructure installations in the Jammu division. Security analysts and officials noted that the incident is part of a broader pattern of stress-related violence among armed personnel deployed in high-altitude and isolated operational zones across the Union Territory.
According to The CSR Journal, cISF's 17.7% vacancy rate (28,342 unfilled posts) is notably higher than peer forces CRPF (9.0%) and BSF (5.6%), creating greater per-capita rotational duty pressure on deployed guards. According to ThePrint, cAPF operational protocol incorporates a buddy system where paired troopers monitor each other for signs of depression, coupled with periodic mental health counselling.
In a similar recent incident in the region on August 14, a village defence guard named Surjeet Singh gunned down a colleague and critically injured another following a scuffle in Udhampur district, located approximately 120 kilometers from Kathua. Authorities have yet to release further findings regarding the immediate triggers behind the Kathua camp shooting as forensic teams and senior commanders complete their on-site assessments.