Village defence guard shoots himself dead in Kishtwar

A village defence guard allegedly committed suicide on Saturday morning by shooting himself with his rifle in Kishtwar, officials said. The incident occurred at his residence in Akra village of Kuntwara area.

The deceased, identified as Tek Chand (45), was upset over the past few days after his teenage daughter, a class 10th student, went missing, with locals claiming that she had eloped with a local boy from her own community, a source stated.

Chand had lodged a complaint, but was depressed and allegedly took his own life, the source added. Upon receiving information, a police party rushed to the scene.

The body has been sent for postmortem examination and will be handed over to his family for the last rites, officials stated.