Chhattisgarh: CRPF jawan on poll duty killed in accidental explosion of grenade launcher shell

Bijapur, April 19

A 32-year-old jawan of the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) deployed on poll duty in Chhattisgarh’s Bijapur district was killed on Friday when a shell of Under Barrel Grenade Launcher (UBGL) exploded accidentally, police said.

The incident took place near Galgam village under Usoor police station limits when a team of security personnel was out on an area domination operation half a kilometer away from a polling booth, said an official.

Bijapur district comes under the Bastar Lok Sabha constituency where voting is underway in the first phase of Lok Sabha elections.

The injured jawan, identified as constable Devendra Kumar of CRPF’s 196th battalion, was shifted to Jagdalpur, headquarters of Bastar district, in an air ambulance helicopter and admitted to the Medical College Hospital there.

But he succumbed to the injuries during treatment, the police official added.

A team of experts was sent to Galgam for investigation into the explosion, he said.

Constable Kumar’s last rites will be conducted in his native Dhobiguda village in Bastar district on Saturday, the official said.