Kashmir: CRPF jawan kills self

A Central Reserve Police Force trooper shot himself dead inside a camp in the summer capital Srinagar after reportedly being scolded by his Commanding Officer.

Gajinder Singh, a havildar, on Thursday bolted himself inside his room and used his service rifle to kill himself.

"The havildar who received several bullet injuries died on the spot," said a senior CRPF officer in Srinagar.

The Kashmir inspector general of CRPF and other officers rushed to the camp after the news of the death of Havildar.

"The commanding officer, K C Jaiswal, of the 49 battalion CRPF has been attached and a court of inquiry ordered into the incident," S.K.Singh, IG CRPF (Kashmir) told rediff.com.

The attachment of the CO followed angry protests by the troopers of the 49 battalion against their commanding officer alleging that he had been harassing his sub-ordinates

on one pretext or the other.

Scores of paramilitary troopers have so far committed suicide or shot their senior officers in Jammu and Kashmir, causing concern among the top brass who have been exploring ways and means to address the built up stress among the deployed troops in the state who discharge their duties under extremely hostile conditions.

Besides enhanced avenues of recreation, frequent leave to join their families, regular interaction between senior officers and the troopers, services of counselors have been engaged to deal with the stress among the deployed troops in the state.