Head constable killed in accidental firing

Parvesh Sharma
Tribune News Service
Sangrur, August 27

A head constable accidentally shot himself when he fell in the bathroom at a police station in the city on Sunday.

A bullet hit the 50-year-old policeman, Manjinder Singh, in his head, killing him instantly.

Singh’s colleagues, asking not to be named, said he, like several policemen in the city, had clocked several hours of continuous duty and fainted from lack of sleep. Some even called the death "suicide", although Deepinder Singh, Station Head Officer, Sangrur City, denied it. He said: "The head constable fell in the bathroom and his carbine went off. A bullet hit in his head and he died on spot."

Policemen say they’ve remained on duty almost constantly, with very little rest, since August 10 — first for Independence Day; then Sant Hatchand Singh Longowal Barsi on August 20; and later because of an incident of sacrilege in Malerkotla on August 20, before they were assigned duties in anticipation of a court verdict in a case involving Dera Sacha Sauda head Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh.

"I have not slept at my house since August 12 due to continuous duty," an inspector-rank offical said, asking not to be named.