Four Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) personnel, including an Assistant Commandant and a Sub-Inspector, were killed after a colleague allegedly opened fire at a security camp in Jammu and Kashmir’s Kathua district on Tuesday evening.
The incident took place at the CISF deployment at the Sewa hydroelectric power project in the Mashka area of Basohli, close to the Himachal Pradesh border. Officials said the firing followed an argument among personnel, although the exact cause of the dispute and what happened immediately before the shooting remain under investigation.
The four victims were identified as Assistant Commandant Ankit Kumar Pandey, Sub-Inspector Lakshman Singh, and constables Rafiq Ahmed and Sandeep Kumar. They suffered critical injuries in the firing and were taken to an NHPC hospital in neighbouring Himachal Pradesh, where they later succumbed to their injuries.
Colleague taken into custody
The accused has been identified as CISF Head Constable Abhidesh Kumar, a 2009-batch personnel. Preliminary information indicates that he allegedly opened fire with his service weapon after an altercation with colleagues.
Other CISF personnel at the camp managed to overpower him after the shooting and seize his weapon. He was subsequently handed over to the local police and arrested. A case has been registered and the weapon has been taken into custody as part of the investigation.
Senior CISF and Jammu and Kashmir Police officers reached the site following the incident. Investigators are examining the circumstances surrounding the confrontation, including the sequence of events that led to the firing.
Officials have so far not established a definitive motive. The CISF has also ordered an internal inquiry to examine the incident and determine how the confrontation escalated into fatal violence.
Security deployment at sensitive project
The CISF personnel were deployed to protect the hydroelectric power project in the Basohli region. The project is located in a remote part of Kathua, near the Jammu and Kashmir-Himachal Pradesh boundary.
The location also affected the immediate medical response. The injured personnel were taken to an NHPC facility across the border in Himachal Pradesh, where doctors later confirmed their deaths.
The incident has been described as fratricide, a term used when personnel belonging to the same security or military force are involved in fatal violence against one another. Such incidents can raise questions about internal security protocols, access to service weapons and the circumstances surrounding disputes within armed units.
The immediate priority for investigators is to establish a clear timeline of the shooting and determine what triggered the confrontation. Statements from personnel present at the camp are expected to form an important part of the inquiry.
Investigation underway
Police and the CISF are conducting investigations into the deaths. The authorities are also examining the circumstances under which the accused allegedly used his service weapon against colleagues.
Reports have differed slightly on the precise location and timing, with officials placing the incident at the Sewa project in Mashka at around 7 pm to 7.30 pm. The project has been identified in reports as Sewa-II or Sewa-III, while authorities continue to establish the exact sequence of events.
The incident comes as security forces continue to maintain deployments across Jammu and Kashmir, including at critical infrastructure such as power projects. CISF units are tasked with protecting strategic installations and other important infrastructure across the country.
The deaths of four personnel in the Kathua shooting have put the focus on the circumstances inside the camp and the factors that led an internal disagreement to turn deadly.
With the accused in police custody and both the local police and CISF conducting inquiries, investigators will now seek to establish the precise cause of the argument, the sequence of firing and whether any security protocols were breached.
Authorities are expected to release further details as the investigation progresses. Until then, the motive behind the shooting remains unconfirmed.
