CHENNAI: The sleepy satellite township of Kalpakkam woke up on Wednesday to news about a shocking fratricide in which a Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) head constable opened fire at five of his colleagues, killing three of them, during the wee hours.
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The shooter, head constable Vijaya Pratap Singh (43), a veteran in the paramilitary force with over 24 years of service, has been detained and handed over to the local police, while the injured are undergoing intensive treatment at a super speciality hospital on the outskirts of Chennai.
Police said V P Singh was promoted and transferred from the Narora nuclear power plant in Uttar Pradesh to the Kalpakkam nuclear complex, which houses Indira Gandhi Centre for Atomic Research (IGCAR) and Madras Atomic Power Station (MAPS), only on July 19. Here, he was reportedly upset with head constable Mohan Singh (57), the barracks in-charge from Rajasthan, for allegedly picking on him.
On Wednesday morning, V P Singh reported for the fall-in before the 5 am to 1 pm shift. After the daily briefing was completed and weapons and ammunition were handed over to him, he walked into Mohan Singh’s second floor accommodation in Unit Line around 4.50 am and shot him.
Hearing the gunshots, other personnel in the Unit Line rushed in to see V P Singh climbing down the stairs just a minute after the incident. He was apparently enraged by their questioning on what happened and turned his gun on his colleagues who intercepted him. Assistant sub-inspector Ganesan (58) of Thalavaipatti in Salem and head constable Subburaj (54) of Madurai suffered grievous injuries and died on the spot.
In the second round of shooting, ASI Pratap Singh (57) of Uttarakhand sustained injuries on his leg but managed to escape by hiding behind a tree on the premises, while constable Govardhana Prasad (42)
of Jammu and Kashmir sustained injuries trying to evade the bullets.
Police said V P Singh soon realised the gravity of his outburst and put down his weapon before turning himself in. By then, he had fired 20 rounds from his 9mm carbine killing three of his fellow personnel.
According to a senior police officer, it was a woman security personnel who pacified V P Singh and brought him to a room.
The bodies were moved to the Government Hospital in Chengalpattu for autopsy. A CISF spokesperson said the force will also carry out an internal probe.