GUWAHATI: A policeman in Meghalaya shot dead his senior in a drunken state and then went underground with his service rifle.
Constable Lusen Sangma, 28, fired six times at havildar Litsingh Inghi, 50, from point blank range before making his escape by brandishing his self-loading rifle (SLR).
The incident took place at 3rd battalion at Sahbsein, around 15 km from Jowai in West Jaintia Hills, in the wee hours of Sunday.
West Jaintia Hills superintendent of police (SP), R Muthu, told the New Indian Express that the assailant was in an inebriated state at the time of the incident.
“Havildar Litsingh Inghi was sitting in his room on the top floor of a building along with two of his subordinates when constable Lusen Sangma came and fired six rounds, causing fatal injuries to the havildar. Later, he fired over 15 rounds on the ground floor of the building before fleeing along with the weapon,” Muthu said.
The havildar succumbed to his injuries while being rushed to a hospital. The two other personnel, who escaped unscathed by running to a corner of the room, were probably not the targets of the assailant.
Muthu blamed liquor for the incident. “The motive behind the killing is yet to be ascertained but what we learnt was that he (Sangma) was in a drunken state,” the SP said adding, “As he is absconding along with the weapon, we have alerted the police in the neighbouring districts”