CRPF constable shoots self to death near Poonamallee

At 10.55 am, a gunshot was heard in the campus and when other CRPF personnel of 77th battalion force rushed to the armoury tent, constable P Rajeshkumar (40) was lying in a pool of blood. He had shot himself with an SLR (Insas) rifle in the neck and died. 

CRPF personnel are supposed to surrender the rifles at the tent for the staff in the next shift to use it. Rajeshkumar signed the register to take the rifle and shot himself when no one was around.

His body was sent to Kilpauk Medical College (KMC) hospital for post-mortem. Arrangements were made to fly his body to his hometown. It is said that Rajeshkumar was upset since Saturday after a higher official allegedly yelled at him for speaking on the phone while on duty. 

However, CRPF sources said that he ended his life owing to a family dispute and on Friday night he reportedly spoke to his wife Susheela Devi over phone for a long time.

Rajeshkumar was posted in Karaiyanchavadi nearly a year ago, while his wife and son Piyush Yadav live in Haryana.

The campus where CRPF 77th battalion is located also houses a sessions court, for exclusive trial of bomb blast cases, NIA court and a sub-jail. Also, visitors of Revenue Inspector's office should pass by the campus and hence is crowded during the day. The suicide incident has shocked the locals. Poonamallee police have registered a case and further investigation is on.

This is the second suicide of CRPF personnel in the city as a 23-year-old recruit, S Kailesh Chandra Rai from Jalpaiguri in West Bengal, committed suicide in a similar fashion at Central Reserve Police Force’s camp in Avadi.